Allegations that an underage woman was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew in London, New York and the Caribbean are “categorically untrue”, Buckingham Palace says.
Prince Andrew is one of three men named in a motion reportedly filed in a Florida court this week in connection with a long-running lawsuit brought by women who say they were exploited by American millionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
It alleges that an underage woman “was forced to have sexual relations with this prince when she was a minor” in London, New York and on the US Virgin Islands.
The woman filed the case anonymously and is understood to have been 17 at the time of the alleged incident.
A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman would not comment on any of the details of the allegation but said that “any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue”.
The full palace statement read: “This relates to long-standing and ongoing civil proceedings in the United States, to which the Duke of York is not a party.
“As such we would not comment on the detail. However, for the avoidance of doubt, any suggestion of impropriety with underage minors is categorically untrue”.