Britain’s Prince Andrew has set aside a £10 million ($12.38M) war chest to sue Jeffrey Epstein’s victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre after receiving a huge inheritance from the estate of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
Giuffre accuses Andrew of raping her three times when she was 17 after being trafficked to the prince by Epstein and his convicted sex trafficking accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell.
Andrew, the Duke of York, is now preparing to launch a major legal challenge against Giuffre that could financially ruin her, if successful.
Andrew is no longer a working royal and was stripped of his HRH (His Royal Highness) title over the scandal.
Last year, Andrew was forced to pay Giuffre a big settlement to end her case against him.
However, he refused to accept any culpability and has always denied her claims.
He is expected to argue that he never met Giuffre, now 39, and claim that the infamous photo of the two of them is a fake.
It conveniently comes as shamed sex trafficker Maxwell now claims she has “no memory” of Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre meeting.
During a new interview with the Mail on Sunday, Maxwell insists that she has no recollection of Andrew and Virginia spending time together in the UK or the US.
The infamous photo, which was reportedly taken in March 2001 at Maxwell’s apartment, was given by Guiffre to The Mail on Sunday in February 2011.
In the revelatory interview, extracts of which will appear on Jeremy Kyle’s UK talk show, Maxwell says: “I have no memory of them meeting.
“And I don’t think that picture is real. It is a fake.
“I don’t believe it is real for a second, in fact, I am sure it is not.
“There has never been an original, there is no photograph,” she told The Mail on Sunday, despite the outlet having the original photo in its possession.
“There is no original of that photo, (just) copies of copies and parts of it, according to some experts, look like it has been photoshopped,” she added, according to The Mail on Sunday.
“I don’t remember her in my home.”
Despite the claims from Maxwell and Andrew, several high-profile forensic experts who have examined the photo, in which Andrew has his arm around a young Giuffre, have said they believe it to be real.
Giuffre alleges she was groomed by pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Maxwell, and forced to have sex with him on several occasions.
Prince Andrew denied ever meeting Giuffre in a disastrous BBC “Newsnight” interview in 2019.
He famously claimed he was at a Pizza Express in Woking for his then-young daughter’s birthday party at the time of one of the incidents mentioned by his accuser.
He claimed that he couldn’t have been in London late that night because he was in Woking during the evening.
The Woking restaurant is roughly one hour’s drive from Maxwell’s London home.
A royal source told the Sun Andrew now wants to “prove” his innocence in a U.S. court.
“He was pressured into settling the case to avoid overshadowing the Platinum Jubilee and has paid a heavy price, personally and professionally,” the source reportedly claimed.
“The King is happy for him to pursue this.
“As Head of State, he can’t back him publicly, but Andrew is still his brother and he wants the best for him.”
The disgraced royal is reported to be more financially secure than ever after he and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson sold their Swiss chalet for £10 million ($12.38M) last year.
The late Queen is also said to have left her son an inheritance worth “several million,” which will massively boost his case.
It comes as it was reported this week that Andrew is pushing King Charles to allow him to use the title HRH again.
But top lawyers have dismissed his ambitions and warned that he should be “grateful that he is not in jail,” The Mirror reports.
READ MORE: Epstein Victim Claims to Have ‘Blackmail’ Videos of Powerful Elites
