A US woman, who accuses Prince Andrew of sexually assaulting her 20 years ago, has welcomed a judge's decision that she can take him to court
Virginia Giuffre is suing the Queen's second son, saying he sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was under the age of 18
Giuffre alleges that the duke's friends - convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell - lent her out for sex with wealthy and powerful associates, including the prince
Andrew has constantly denied the allegations and attempted to get the case dismissed by a judge in New York
His lawyers had argued in court that Giuffre waived her rights to sue him as part of a settlement with Epstein
But Giuffre's team said only the parties of the settlement agreement could benefit from it, and not a "third party"
In a 46-page decision, judge Lewis A Kaplan in New York said the agreement "cannot be said" to benefit Prince Andrew
That's all from the live team for this evening - thank you for joining us.
These updates were written by Matt Murphy, James McFadden and Nathan Williams in London and Holly Honderich and Sam Cabral in the US.
The page was edited by Thom Poole and Claudia Allen.
We're now pausing our live coverage of Virginia Giuffre's civil suit against the Queen's second son, Prince Andrew.
Giuffre, now 38, says the prince sexually assaulted her on three occasions beginning in March 2001 when she was 17. He has denied all allegations against him and said that he does not recall ever meeting her.
US district Judge Lewis A Kaplan ruled on Wednesday that Giuffre could move forward with her sex abuse suit against the Duke of York. Judge Kaplan rejected arguments by the prince that he was protected by a 2009 plea agreement between Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein, which bars Giuffre from pursuing litigation against Epstein and anyone who could be a "potential defendant".
Prince Andrew now faces three choices: head to court, appeal the decision, or reach a legal settlement with Giuffre. Experts say none of the options are good ones for the prince.
The clock is already ticking for the Duke of York. Aiming for an autumn trial, Giuffre's lawyers will soon begin seeking evidence from his legal team.
A lawyer for Giuffre said she was "pleased" by the ruling and that she looks forward to pursuing her case in court. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the "ongoing legal matter".
Prince Andrew gave a key interview to BBC Newsnight's Emily Maitlis in November 2019, in which he "categorically" denied having any sexual contact with Virginia Giuffre.
Maitlis has since written about the moment she sat down in a Buckingham Palace ballroom posing questions that "seemed almost too surreal to ask".
In an earlier meeting with the prince, prepping for the interview, he had "volunteered the information to me in that early meeting that he was 'unable to sweat'", she says.
Virginia Giuffre had alleged she had danced with a sweating Prince Andrew in a London club.
The royal was also asked to explain his whereabouts on the night Giuffre alleged he had danced with her.
"His office had checked the date, and told us he couldn't have been with her because he had been at a children's birthday party that same evening."
In the interview, the prince said the party had taken place at a Pizza Express in Woking.
Giuffre's legal team has since asked for proof of the duke's alleged inability to sweat.
It was an interview that grabbed the attention of the world, and led to the Duke of York stepping back from public life.
For the BBC's 5 Minutes On, Emily Maitlis describes the 2019 interview and how it might play a crucial role in what happens next to the prince.
Prince Andrew fails to get US civil case dismissed.
Image source, ReutersVirginia Giuffre with her lawyer David Boies (right)
Virginia Giuffre's lawyers are pleased at the ruling out of New York.
In a statement, Sigrid McCawley wrote: “Today’s decision by Judge Kaplan denying Prince Andrew’s effort to dismiss Virginia Giuffre’s case against him is another important step in Virginia‘s heroic and determined pursuit of justice as a survivor of sex trafficking."
Earlier, we reported that McCawley's co-counsel David Boies said Giuffre was "pleased" the Duke of York's motion had been denied and she "looks forward" to bringing her case in court.
Neither the prince nor his lawyers have made a statement in response to today's decision. The duke has vigorously denied Giuffre's allegations against him.
More now on the details of today's legal ruling by a New York judge.
Judge Kaplan, as part of his ruling, addressed an argument by Prince Andrew’s legal team that a New York state law giving victims of child sexual abuse more time to sue is “unconstitutional".
The state's Child Victim’s Act allows such victims to sue until they turn 55 years old, giving those who suffered decades-old abuse a chance to seek justice.
Prince Andrew's lawyers said that while the law allowed survivors to sue for abuses they suffered before they were 18 years old, the age of consent in New York is 17. That's the age Ms Giuffre was when she says she was abused by the royal (allegations he denies).
Judge Kaplan said Prince Andrew is not the first person to try and use this argument in court, but it has been “rejected by every New York state and federal court to have encountered it.”
He adds: “It has been rejected repeatedly for good reason.”
Melissa Murray, a professor of law at New York University, says that allowing the allegations against Prince Andrew to advance to a civil trial in a New York court could be "embarrassing to the monarchy".
But Prof Murray also warned that pursuing a settlement with Virginia Giuffre outside of court would be widely viewed as an implicit admission of wrongdoing on the Duke's part - which he has always strenuously denied.
Prof Melissa Murray says a trial would be "embarrassing to the monarchy"
Image source, Getty ImagesPrince Andrew's lawyers had argued that Virginia Giuffre was prevented from pursuing her civil case against him due to a legal settlement she'd reached with Jeffrey Epstein in 2009.
A clause in that agreement blocked future cases against Epstein and anyone else who could be a "potential defendant".
But in his verdict, Judge Lewis A Kaplan said that the agreement, "whatever it was intended to mean, is riddled with drafting problems and ambiguities”.
He added that the clause is far too broad and that it is unclear who exactly it is intended to cover.
Judge Kaplan also said that an agreement must leave no reasonable doubt about the intent of the contracting parties and said that where such ambiguity exists it "must be resolved by… a trial jury".
He told the duke's lawyers that the court cannot "resolve any such ambiguity on a motion to dismiss the complaint."
Prince Andrew has consistently denied Ms Giuffre's claims.
Image source, Virginia RobertsA 2001 photo of Prince Andrew with Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell
Prince Andrew has said he has "no recollection" of ever meeting Virginia Giuffre.
Giuffre claims she was forced to have sex with the Duke of York on three occasions - in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island owned by late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein - between 2001 and 2002, beginning when she was 17.
An infamous photo of the two together, with the prince's arm around Giuffre's waist, is what she says proves that first meeting in March 2001.
Also in the frame is a smiling Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein's former girlfriend and business associate, now convicted of trafficking girls for him to abuse.
The photo is said to have been taken by Epstein himself inside the Belgravia townhouse belonging to Maxwell.
Of the photo, the prince has suggested it may well have been doctored, adding that "hug[s] and public displays of affection are not something that I do".
While Giuffre alleges they went to a nightclub and had sex at Maxwell's home later that evening, Prince Andrew insists he was actually with his daughter at a Pizza Express restaurant in the town of Woking, near London, on that day.
BBC royal correspondent Nicholas Witchell says today's ruling in New York is "a monumental mess" for the Royal Family.
"We are not three days now since Buckingham Palace confirmed all the details of the [Queen's] Platinum Jubilee and we have the prospect of this civil sex case against her second son in September," he says.
Our correspondent says further public airing of the claims against the Duke of York - which he denies - make it "very, very hard" for him to have any sort of public role within the family.
"He clings on to his colonelship of the Grenadier Guards," says Witchell. "I'll tell you this: the Grenadier Guards don't want him."
The Guards have not spoken publicly about the case, he notes, but "behind the scenes, they are acutely embarrassed to have Prince Andrew as their colonel".
Prince Andrew case 'a monumental mess'
Virginia Giuffre on Prince Andrew: 'I knew I had to keep him happy'
Back in 2019, Virginia Giuffre told BBC Panorama that she had been brought to Britain aged 17 to have sex with Prince Andrew and implored the British public to "stand beside her".
She said she had accompanied the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his then girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, to London in March 2001, where they met the Duke of York.
"We’re having tea and Andrew’s talking about Fergie, which is his ex-wife. And Ghislaine’s bad mouthing Fergie… It seemed like friends just catching up," she said.
Roberts alleged that they later accompanied the Duke to Tramp nightclub. “He asked me to dance," Roberts recalled during the interview.
"He is the most hideous dancer I’ve ever seen… and this guy was sweating all over me… But I knew I had to keep him happy because that’s what Jeffrey and Ghislaine would expect from me.
"In the car, Ghislaine tells me that I had to do for Andrew what I do for Jeffrey. And that made me sick. I just didn’t expect it from royalty," she said.
She alleged that later that evening, she had sex with Prince Andrew upstairs at Maxwell's house in Belgravia, London.
"It was a wicked time in my life. It was a really scary time in my life… I wasn’t chained to a sink, but these powerful people were my chains," Giuffre said.
The Duke of York has consistently denied the claims, saying: "It didn't happen."
If you're just joining us, Prince Andrew has failed in a bid to get a civil sex assault case against him thrown out. Here's a recap about what's happened, and what it is all about:
Mark Stephens, a defamation and reputation expert, told the BBC earlier that the Duke of York now finds himself "in the last chance saloon with the towels over the taps" and has only bad options ahead of him.
"Judge Lewis Kaplan has thrown this judicial decision like a bomb at the heart of the Royal Family," he said.
Stephens noted that Prince Andrew faced "three pretty bad options" - appeal, settle or allow the case to go on and start giving evidence.
He warned that, regardless of which path his lawyers took next, the duke's credibility was at serious risk.
"The one thing he can do is to accept the responsibility, accept the blame and accept that he has to fall on his sword for the sake of the wider family."
Prince Andrew's options 'increasingly limited' after failing to get civil case thrown out
Image source, Getty ImagesPrince Andrew is the Queen's third child and second son – and was the first child to be born to a reigning monarch for 103 years. He's now ninth in line to the throne.
He was created the Duke of York on his marriage to Sarah Ferguson, who became Duchess of York, in 1986.
They have two daughters – Beatrice and Eugenie. In March 1992 it was announced the duke and duchess were to separate. They divorced in 1996, though remain close and still live together in the duke's home near Windsor.
The duke served for 22 years in the Royal Navy and saw active service in the Falklands War in 1982. He also served as a special trade representative for the UK government until 2011.
Andrew stepped away from royal duties in 2019 after a BBC Newsnight interview about Virginia Giuffre's allegations and his former friendship with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Dominic Casciani
Home Affairs Correspondent
The legal clock is now ticking in Virginia Giuffre v Prince Andrew - because Judge Lewis Kaplan has set an unambiguous timetable to keep things moving towards a trial in the autumn.
In the coming days, he wants to know whether his Manhattan court will be asked to send formal requests to the UK for assistance from judges in London with obtaining evidence. This is a common procedure in some international cases - but it may get complicated and political, depending on what Ms Giuffre's team ask for.
By mid-May he wants to know who the witnesses are going to be for each side.
While all this is going on, Ms Giuffre's team will be pressing for the prince's lawyers to disclose evidence. Their current demands - detailed in court papers - include information about the medical condition 20 years ago that prevented him sweating and, secondly, evidence that he went to Woking Pizza Express.
He must comply with these requests, if the evidence exists.
By mid-July, witnesses will have filed their depositions. This means a formal recording of their evidence, on oath, out of court.
If Prince Andrew refuses to comply with that, Virginia Giuffre can seek an automatic judgment in her favour at the end of that month.
Image source, News SyndicationPrince Andrew with Jeffrey Epstein in New York's Central Park in 2010
Virginia Giuffre alleges she was trafficked to London by Jeffrey Epstein in 2001, when she was 17, and forced into sex with Prince Andrew. He says this did not happen.
Here's a timeline of the key events in this case:
A former prosecutor for the Southern District of New York has told the BBC that the range of options facing Prince Andrew have narrowed significantly.
Sarah Krisoff said that the Duke of York must now seriously consider trying to resolve this civil case before it advances to trial some time later this year.
Sarah Krisoff spoke to the BBC about the latest in the allegations against Prince Andrew.
Image source, ReutersVirginia Giuffre's lawyer says she is "pleased that Prince Andrew’s motion to dismiss has been denied, and that evidence will now be taken concerning her claims against him".
In a statement released a short while ago, David Boies adds that his client "looks forward to a judicial determination of the merits of those claims".
Boies, 80, is the chairman and managing partner of the US law firm Boies, Schiller & Flexner, and represents several alleged victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
He has previously said up to six witnesses are willing to testify in the civil case against the Duke of York (who has consistently denied the allegations).
Image source, Getty ImagesNow faced with a civil lawsuit in the US, Prince Andrew's best option is to settle, our royal correspondent Jonny Dymond continues.
"The cool heads among the US legal profession are saying: he does not want to go through the process of trial.
"Just the process of the trial going forward will be immensely difficult for him to navigate and immensely challenging for his reputation."
But crucially Virginia Guiffre must also agree to a settlement for the duke to avoid a courtroom drama.
If the civil case does go forward, and Prince Andrew is compelled to appear in a US courtroom "it would be one of the most astonishing moments in the royal family’s modern history", Dymond says.
“We are in strange territory now for the Queen’s second son.”
Image source, Virginia RobertsVirginia Giuffre, then Roberts, was pictured with Prince Andrew in London in 2001
BBC royal correspondent Jonny Dymond says today's ruling in New York is "a disastrous result" for the Duke of York and "very serious for the reputation" of the royals.
"The Royal Family as an institution would love to see this case go away but it is not going away," he says.
Our correspondent says Prince Andrew may have expected the 2009 deal struck between his accuser Virginia Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein to be his "get-out-of-jail-free card" but the family will now likely endure "six to 10 months of embarrassment".
"There is the possibility of an appeal, but it's really slim," he notes. "And the machinery of this case continues while that appeal goes on."
He adds: "Even if Prince Andrew stays in England, there is a mechanism to enforce him giving testimony in a deposition for a US trial. His legal options are narrowing day by day."
Let's look back now at the interview the Duke of York gave to BBC Newsnight more than two years ago.
He came to clear his name folllowing the Giuffre allegations. He believed things had been said about him that he could disprove. And he had his defence ready.
"The point of the interview was just to have a record of Prince Andrew's own version of events. He wanted to set his own record straight," writes the BBC's Emily Maitlis, who interviewed the royal.
Maitlis says the answers Prince Andrew gave - about a birthday party in Woking, a trip to Pizza Express, and his inability to sweat - then "seemed almost comical".
"But now suddenly, they feel deadly serious."
Prince Andrew: 'I don't remember this'