Prince Andrew Deletes Social Media Accounts Amid Sex Abuse Lawsuit

Prince Andrew deleted some of his social media accounts amid his legal battle with a woman making sexual abuse claims against him.

The Duke of York’s Twitter and Instagram accounts were deactivated in the wake of the embattled son of Queen Elizabeth II losing his royal and military titles, The Wall Street Journal reported.

“The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen,” read a Jan. 13 statement from Buckingham Palace.

Prince Andrew’s attorneys failed to have a lawsuit by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged she had multiple encounters with the Duke of York while underage, dismissed earlier this month in a federal court in New York. They argued that a 2009 settlement between the disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and Giuffre barred her from suing the Duke of York.

The litigation comes in the wake of Epstein’s ex-girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, being convicted on five of six counts, including a charge of conspiring to sex traffic minors. Epstein pleaded guilty to sex offenses in 2008 and committed suicide while awaiting further charges in 2019.

Prince Andrew said he first met Epstein in 1999, according to the New York Post. He has denied Giuffre’s allegations, Reuters reported.