Britain’s Prince Andrew has publicly denied allegations he had underage sex with a teenager.
The 54-year-old royal addressed claims by Virginia Roberts, which Buckingham Palace previously insisted were "categorically untrue", while attending the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
He said: "Firstly I think I must, and want, for the record, to refer to the events that have taken place in the last few weeks, and I just wish to reiterate and to reaffirm the statements which have already been made on my behalf by Buckingham Palace."
Miss Roberts alleges in court documents that she was forced by Prince Andrew’s former friend and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with the royal on three separate occasions when she was just 17-years-old.
However, speaking at the business conference, Andrew maintained his innocence and insisted his "focus" is on his work.
He added: "My focus is on my work and this evening’s reception allows me to tell you about just a couple of initiatives that I have founded and am passionate about."
The claims were reiterated in new documents filed in a Florida court after Miss Roberts’ lawyers revealed they’d sent Prince Andrew a letter asking him to respond under oath to the allegations only to have it sent back to them after being refused by the recipient.
Prince Andrew is being called on to provide evidence in a case against Epstein and is not facing any legal proceedings over the claims.
A statement made by Miss Roberts in the documents prior to the Prince’s public denial reads: "I have seen Buckingham Palace’s recent ’emphatic’ denial that Prince Andrew had sexual contact with me.
"That denial is false and hurtful to me. I did have sexual contact with him as I have described here – under oath.
"Given what he knows and has seen, I was hoping that he would simply voluntarily tell the truth about everything.
"I hope my attorneys can interview Prince Andrew under oath about the contacts and that he will tell the truth."
Prince Andrew publicly denies claims
