Royal embarrassment: Duke of York Prince Andrew named in underage sex scandal

A woman has filed a lawsuit in the US claiming that she was held and passed around among rich and powerful friends as an underage ‘sex slave’. According to a report in The Guardian, the court documents — contained in a motion filed in a Florida court this week — name Duke of York Prince Andrew among the accused. [caption id=“attachment_2027723” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Prince Andrew. AFP[/caption] The woman claims that she was repeatedly forced to have sexual relations with him — and the allegations are part of a long-running lawsuit brought by women who say they were exploited by multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein — who was convicted of soliciting sex with an underage girl after a plea deal. The motion was filed anonymously, but says that the forced relations with Prince Andrew occurred in London, New York and on a private island owned by Epstein. It is believed that the duke enjoys a close relationship with Epstein and has been accused of knowing about his victims’ sexual exploitation. The events allegedly took place between 1999 and 2002. The woman is said to have been 17 at the time. Prince Andrew has not had any opportunity to respond to the allegations in the legal claim. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said that they would never comment on an ongoing legal matter. The report quotes another accused — Alan Dershowitz — as saying that the allegations were “totally false and made up”. Click here to read the full report on The Guardian.