Prince Andrew returns to UK in wake of underage sex abuse claims

Buckingham Palace stated they had 'no record' of the Queen meeting a woman who was 'forced to have underage sex with Prince Andrew'.

16:17 05 January 2015

Prince Andrew is back from Switzerland following allegations that he forced a woman to have underage sex with him. The allegations were made in court papers in the United States.

Buckingham Palace has issued two denials saying that claims made by Virginia Roberts, who claimed to be the victim, were “categorically untrue.”

The palace also denied claims made by the woman’s father that his daughter met the Queen during a visit to London.

A palace spokesman insisted: "There is nothing to suggest the claim is true. We have no record of such a meeting."

The woman’s claim is part of a lawsuit in connection with American billionaire and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – a former friend of the Duke. Virginia said that between 1999 and 2002, she was "was forced to have sexual relations with this prince when she was a minor" in London, New York and on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein.

In a statement, the woman said:  "These types of aggressive attacks on me are exactly the reason why sexual abuse victims typically remain silent and the reason why I did for a long time.

"That trend should change. I'm not going to be bullied back into silence."