In a public address Prince Andrew denied claims by Virginia Roberts that she was forced to have sex with the Prince at age 17.
The Prince spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on 22 January, his first public appearance since the allegations.
“Firstly I think I must, and want, for the record, to refer to events that have taken place in the last few weeks,” the Prince said.
“I just wish to reiterate and to reaffirm the statements that have already been made on my behalf by Buckingham Palace.
“My focus is on my work and this evening’s reception allows me to tell you about just a couple of the initiatives that I have founded and am passionate about.”
The Prince’s statement followed further documents filed by Roberts detailing her three alleged sexual encounters with Prince Andrew. In a sworn affidavit on 21 January she claimed that Prince Andrew had a foot fetish and that she was hurt by the denials issued by Buckingham Palace.
“That denial is false and hurtful to me. I did have sexual contact with him as I have described here – under oath,” she said in the sworn affidavit.
“Given what he knows and has seen, I was hoping that he would simply voluntarily tell the truth about everything.”
Roberts’ lawyers, former federal judge Paul Cassell and Bradley Edwards, attempted to arrange an interview and delivered a letter to Buckingham Palace earlier in the week, reported the Sydney Morning Herald. The letter formally requested an interview with Prince Andrew under oath, regarding the interactions that he had with Roberts.
According to The Guardian, the letter was turned away.
Top image: Prince Andrew [file image] (TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP/Getty Images)
