Jeffrey Epstein

“With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen,” Buckingham Palace said in an announcement Thursday, adding that he will defend himself against the lawsuit as a "private citizen." 

U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected Prince Andrew's argument that a 2009 settlement between Virginia Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein shielded him from legal action.

Prince Andrew's attorneys argued in a virtual hearing Tuesday that Virginia Roberts Giuffre "does not articulate what supposedly happened to her at the hands of Prince Andrew,” but the federal judge in the case said "that is not a dog that's going to hunt here."

"I appreciate the arguments and the passion," the judge in the case said after the prince's lawyer argued in favor of dismissal.

Attorneys for Britain's Prince Andrew argue the terms of the settlement protect him from Virginia Guiffre's federal civil lawsuit against him.

Wednesday’s verdict shows that at least one American jury was willing to believe the young women trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell.

Virginia Giuffre responded to Ghislaine Maxwell's conviction by stating that her "soul yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that."

A jury convicted Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's confidante, of five counts related to child sexual abuse and trafficking.

“We now face a high and escalating risk that jurors and trial participants may need to quarantine,” Judge Alison J. Nathan said. 

There jurors departed a federal court in New York without signaling that there is division in their ranks or when a verdict might arrive