In the latest round of a significant court case that was first filed during the period between 2009 and 2011, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, was named by a unidentified female party as an offending participant in forced sexual relations involving a minor. The claims have been strongly denied by the British royal family.
According to a Buckingham Palace representative, the "Duke of York is not a party" to "ongoing civil proceedings" regarding American businessman Jeffrey Epstein that are based in the U.S. Mr Epstein completed an 18-month prison sentence for soliciting a minor for prostitution after the ruling from a 2008 court case. This week's allegations against Prince Andrew were filed by the alleged victim, now 30 years old, in the American state of Florida.
The litigant says she was forced into "sexual relations" with Prince Andrew on three occasions in three different locations: a London residence, on a Caribbean island owned by Mr Epstein and in New York. According to the wording of the filing, "acts of sexual abuse" occurred during these encounters. The abuse allegedly took place between 1999 and 2001, meaning that the litigant was around 15 years old when she was first forced by Mr Epstein to accede to the Prince's sexual requests.
On Friday, the BBC's Washington correspondent asked readers to remember:
"While accusations are levelled against Prince Andrew, it's important to note that he is not party to the proceedings. Instead he is named as part of evidence relating to a wider case of an alleged sex trafficking scheme, involving US businessman Jeffrey Epstein".
As the prince is not a party to the proceedings, he has been unable to speak to the allegations in a court of law.
This is not the first instance in which the relationship between Prince Andrew and Mr Epstein has appeared in the media. The prince resigned from the role of UK special representative for trade and investment in July 2011, due to the criticism that emerged after he was photographed with Mr Epstein, who had been released from prison at the time.
An Australian connection to the case exists, as Australian resident Virginia Roberts stated publicly that she was one of 40 women abused by Mr Epstein, and "royalty" was included in the group of perpetrators. However, the Duke was not identified by Ms Roberts in her 2011 statement.
The 30-year-old woman released a media statement through her legal representatives, excerpts of which were published by the BBC on Friday. She said she is "looking forward to vindicating my rights as an innocent victim and pursuing all available recourse", and will not "be bullied back into silence".
Typically, the UK's royal palace does not engage with the media over serious legal matters such as this, but it was forced to release an official statement because the media is able to report on details that appear in court documents.