Prince Andrew has reportedly been 'served' with papers outlining the allegations of sexual assault made against him by Virginia Giuffre, as per the Mirror.
Legal staff are thought to have handed the papers to the royal protection officers outside of Windsor Palace two weeks ago, which could mean that Andrew has until next Friday - September 21 - to respond to the claims.
61-year-old Andrew has denied all of the sexual assault allegations against him vehemently and consistently, and has previously claimed he has no recollection of ever meeting Giuffre, now 38.
Giuffre is suing Prince Andrew regarding her claims that she was loaned out to the royal family member at the age of 17 by deceased paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his alleged 'recruiter' Ghislaine Maxwell.
According to the Hague Convention, the team representing Giuffre must serve the papers to Andrew in person, but the legal documents that have been filed in the USA allege that they were served to him in the proper fashion under UK law.
If that is the case, the September 21 deadline to respond would stand.
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In the past, the lawyers representing Giuffre have confirmed their intention to serve the papers personally to Andrew, with lawyer David Boies stating: "We'll present a copy of the complaint in a formal way. He is a foreign citizen so we must do this under the Hague Convention."
He added that the Prince 'cannot hide behind wealth and palace walls' and will have to face the allegations.
Boies told The Sun: "We will make a report to the court of what we have done. If the court confirms Andrew has been served, the judge will give him a deadline to respond.
"I don't really believe his legal team are going to ignore this - but that's what they have done consistently, so maybe that will happen.
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"If Andrew doesn't respond there can be a default judgement against him."
He added: "A policeman took the court papers and said he would give them to him (Andrew). We certainly didn't expect that!"
Speaking on Newsnight in 2019, Andrew categorically denied the allegations, telling Emily Maitlis: "It didn't happen."
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Mum-of-three Giuffre, who now lives in Australia, is seeking compensation and punitive damages that could run to more than £14 million.
Featured Image Credit: PA
Topics: World News, UK News, Celebrity, Royal Family