Prince Andrew will face civil trial over claims he sexually abused Virginia Giuffre

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Prince Andrew will face civil trial over claims he sexually abused Virginia Giuffre when she was just 17.The Duke of York had his bid to stop the case thrown out by a US judge who dismissed a motion by his legal team.The case will now go to trial in a major blow for Prince Andrew as his reputation takes another hit.

Judge Lewis Kaplan ordered the trial over Virginia Giuffre's claims that the Duke of York abused her when she was one of Epstein's 'teen sex slaves'.It is alleged by Ms Giuffre that Epstein and Maxwell, who was convicted of child sex trafficking crimes last month, forced the then 17-year-old into having sex with Andrew, then 41, at Maxwell's townhouse.

The royal has vehemently denied the allegations.As reported in the Mirror, the Duke's relationship with his former billionaire pal Epstein stems back to 1999 when he was reportedly introduced to him through Maxwell.Andrew had been a friend of Maxwell's since her time at the University of Oxford.The royal flew alongside Epstein on his private jet in February 1999, when he is believed to have travelled to the financier's private island Little St James in the US Virgin Islands.The royal invited both Epstein and Maxwell to the Queen's Dance of the Decades event at Windsor Castle in June 2000.Throughout the year Andrew and Maxwell attended private parties and events together in the UK and US.The pair went abroad together several times, including to Florida and Thailand.The Duke even threw her a surprise party at Sandringham Estate in December 2000, with Epstein pictured at the bash.Andrew later described it as a 'straightforward shooting weekend' as he defended himself against Ms Giuffre's claims in an agonising BBC Newsnight interview.Epstein also attended Princess