Prince Andrew’s high-risk sex case strategy could easily backfire

Prince Andrew isn’t known for his shy and retiring nature. That much has been clear, at least, from the saga of the Duke of York’s increasingly compromised public standing. And when a New York judge announced earlier this month that Virginia Roberts’s civil case against Prince Andrew could proceed, he was faced with two options: offer an out-of-court settlement to Roberts that would be substantial enough to deter her from her chosen path of legal action; or prepare for trial. It should hardly come as a surprise – even if it will horrify the rest of the Royal family – that he has opted to carry on fighting.

Andrew has, once again, exhibited the brass neck that has been a consistent feature of his, or his lawyers’, defence strategy throughout the whole affair. A court document filed by his attorneys notes that the Duke has denied all allegations against him and that he ‘hereby demands a trial by jury on all causes of action asserted in the complaint.’