Prince Andrew will be deposed on ‘neutral’ ground in London on March 10th

Virginia Giuffre’s attorney David Boies confirmed that he would fly to the UK to depose Prince Andrew in person, as opposed to a video-conference deposition. The trial is moving forward, and the judge has maintained a strict schedule for when these things will happen. I kept thinking that Andrew’s lawyers would push back the depositions for months, but it looks like it really will be happening sooner rather than later. According to the Telegraph, Boies will fly into the UK in March, and Andrew has agreed to be deposed on March 10.

Prince Andrew will be deposed by lawyers for his accuser on March 10 at a “neutral” location in London, The Telegraph understands. The Duke of York will be forced to make a statement under oath to attorneys representing Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who will be flying in from the US to interview Andrew in person. Sources with knowledge of the case told The Telegraph that both sides agreed on the date after a lengthy back-and-forth over scheduling issues.

David Boies and Sigrid McCawley, of Boies Schiller Flexner, will first question Prince Andrew – in a grilling which is expected to last around two days – before interviewing Shukri Walker, a woman who is alleged to have seen the Duke and Ms Giuffre together at a nightclub 20 years ago, and Robert Ashton Olney, who was a royal equerry for Andrew. Mr Boies, 80, a skilled interviewer with a reputation as the “greatest deposition-taker” in modern American justice, has said he is looking forward to looking the Duke in the eye.

On Monday, Judge Kaplan signed four requests to courts in the UK and in Australia, where Ms Giuffre and her family live, asking for assistance in securing testimony. In Australia, the requests were to facilitate the taking of testimony of Mr Giuffre’s husband, Robert, and her psychologist, Judith Lightfoot. The 38-year-old alleged victim could be allowed to conduct her deposition via video feed because of pandemic-related travel difficulties.

A source close to the Duke on Friday night expressed frustration that despite complying with the legal process, Ms Giuffre had not confirmed any details for her own deposition. The source told The Telegraph: “We agreed to voluntarily produce the Duke for a deposition on March 10. Despite repeated requests, Ms. Giuffre still hasn’t committed to a date or location for her deposition.”

The Duke is being prepared for his interview by his UK-based legal team and advisors. His disastrous performance on BBC’s Newsnight in November 2019 has prompted fears that he will not perform well under pressure.

[From The Telegraph]

LOL, they should be afraid of how Andrew will hold up under questioning from an American lawyer who is good at his f–king job. Andrew made a complete ass out of himself on Newsnight and he wasn’t even under oath! And that was back when he was trying to convince everyone that he barely knew Jeffrey Epstein and he (Andrew) was a lot closer to Ghislaine Maxwell. Anyway, notice that Andrew’s lawyers are trying to make it sound like Virginia is being squirrelly about when and where she’ll be deposed. SHE is the one suing, my dudes. And she’s in Australia, a country with really strict quarantine times and travel restrictions. She can’t just pop out of Australia for a few days to be deposed. I guarantee that Andrew and his lawyers put up more of a fight about the timing of his deposition than Virginia did with hers.

Anyway, mark your calendars. Not only will the Windsors go all out to distract from Andrew’s deposition, I expect the sh-t will hit the fan afterwards, as Andrew will inevitably get caught up in his own web of lies. I wonder if his lawyers are waiting until after the deposition to offer Virginia a huge settlement. Incidentally, please don’t argue that the Queen made her big “Queen Camilla” statement to distract from this. She did not.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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40 Responses to “Prince Andrew will be deposed on ‘neutral’ ground in London on March 10th”

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  1. Noki says:

    If his tv interview is anything to go by,he seems like he mumbles and stutters under pressure. The US lawyers dont GAF about his Royalty so this will be good.

  2. Amy Bee says:

    I hope at some point we get to see it.

    • SarahCS says:

      I’ve never been interested in anything pay per view but if they put this out we could cover the costs of the whole stupid jubbly no problem.

      • NotSoSocialB says:

        I, as a US citizen, would pay to view. I’d love to see him squirm as he did (more than, really) his prior interview.

  3. Woke says:

    For the lawyers, in deposition are you allowed to not respond in case the response might implicate you like on stand ? I don’t know the legal jargon.
    And will the content of the deposition will be available to the public ?

    • Cara says:

      Yes, you can plead the fifth in a civil deposition but the burden is put on you to prove that it was necessary to do so. There are other safeguards to protect plaintiffs but I’ve never dealt with them so I don’t really know what they are.

  4. Haylie says:

    Well, we already know that UK attorneys who work for the Windsors are incompetent. This won’t go well for him. Pity. He’s going to ruin mummy’s jubbly year.

  5. Eurydice says:

    Just a couple days before will be the anniversary of the Oprah interview. I imagine the tabloids will be full of distracting stories about how H&M have caused pain.

    I know we’re all waiting for Andrew to implode, but I think it’s more likely that he’ll respond “I don’t remember” to every question.

    • LaraW” says:

      Honestly, I think it will be a mixed bag. He can’t say “I can’t remember” to every single question without straining credulity. I can see it being played as a delay tactic— force Virginia to file a motion to compel meaningful depo testimony, go through all the briefing, maybe even have a fight about sanctions. But if Andrew is hellbent on seeing this go to trial, juries are not going to believe him constantly saying “I don’t remember.”

      Also, sitting for two days of depositions is exhausting. Attorneys go into depos with the goal of getting certain key admissions— Boies has two days to ask the same question in a thousand different ways. Andrew only has to f-ck up once.

      • Eurydice says:

        Yes, I was deposed a couple of times, basically nuisance depositions. In both cases, I literally said “I don’t know, I don’t recall, I don’t understand the question ” over and over for 3-4 hours. It helped that I really didn’t know anything, but it was tiring and psychologically ego-deflating – I was sorely tempted to tell some kind of story just to break the monotony and not sound like an idiot.

      • Elizabeth Phillips says:

        I was deposed once, when a girl who did something dumba@@ed tried to sue the Theatre Dept. At one point in the depo, her lawyer showed the photo they took of the area where the incident occurred and asked me if I could tell if any special equipment was used to take the photo. I said, “I would assume a camera.” The defense attorney snickered and the stenographer giggled for a couple of minutes. The case did not go forward.

    • Justplainme says:

      He already ‘remembered’ a lot in the car crash interview.

  6. Linda says:

    Prince Andrew is very handsome.

  7. Harper says:

    Back and forth over scheduling issues? What, did Andrew have to rearrange his teddy bear tea parties to fit in the deposition? Prince Andrew has nothing on his calendar of more importance. This reminds me of William not attending one of his own wedding rehearsals–these men are just spoiled brats that will resist doing anything unpleasant or boring.

    • SarahCS says:

      That’s what I was coming here to query! His schedule consists of what exactly these days??

  8. J+ferber says:

    Drag his ass to New York. London is not neutral territory. It’s his home field.

  9. Jais says:

    I’m still kind of shocked he’s going to sit for a deposition and hasn’t settled yet.

    • SarahCS says:

      These are the people who thought Newsnight went well so I’m sure they are more than ready for him to ‘clear his name’ in this deposition.

    • TQ says:

      @Jais +1000.

      What an arrogant idiot thinking he can withstand Boies’ questioning. While he will have his attorney present, depos get very broad scope with questioning. Sometimes counsel will threaten to call the judge if they don’t like some of the questions (‘outside the scope’ etc.), but judges are very reluctant to get tangled up with the workings of depos. Boies is going to verbally beat Andrew down. And I’m here for it. Hope we get some leaks of the transcript, which delusional Andrew might even do himself if he thinks it’ll help him or create sympathy.

    • Cara says:

      She would have to agree to a settlement. Obviously there’s a risk that you lose and you risk annoying the judge but you can’t be forced to settle. When I practiced, depos always were a good time to settle.

    • Justplainme says:

      I think settlement negotiations are still quietly going on.

  10. C-Shell says:

    I’m curious. Is this agreement to get the deposition out of the way promptly the RF’s way of bringing their nightmare to a close quickly so the jubbly can joyfully go ahead? And, yes. The 🤡🤡🤡 will be out in force pointing accusations at H&M to deflect. What day goes by when they don’t?

    • Merricat says:

      He wants mummy to be alive to protect him, so the sooner the better.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      C-Shell, the Court has issued a scheduling order which directs when certain things must be done. You need the depositions and other discovery to go forward in order to meet the deadlines in the scheduling order. (It’s been my experience that the Federal courts work this way although I’m unfamiliar with this specific court, so I am making an assumption.)

      • C-Shell says:

        @Saucy, LOL your procedural point is logical and well taken. I guess I’m a tad surprised PA and his team have cooperated with alacrity and not made a token attempt to delay and avoid the inevitable. I’m probably wearing my tin foil fascinator too often.

  11. Mrs. Smith says:

    Oooooo will Fergie be there, too?? I can only hope.

  12. CC says:

    What would be neutral territory? The Pizza Express in Trafalgar Square? A deodorant factory?

    • Margaret says:

      What’s the bet that Boies makes a special trip to the Pizza Express in Woking while he’s over there? 😀 I would if I was in his shoes.

  13. Alexandria says:

    I want someone to read his horoscope for that day 😃

  14. Jaded says:

    Sung to the tune of “The Teddy Bears’ Picnic”:

    If you go down in the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise
    If you go down in the woods today, you’d better go in disguise
    For every lawyer that ever there was
    Will gather there for certain because
    Today’s the day the lawyers have their picnic

  15. Jay says:

    What could Virginia’s husband and therapist know about Andrew’s alleged crime? Or is that to establish emotional damage done?

    It’s very interesting that we finally have the first royal staffer deposed in this case. That’s a pretty big deal. Do we think he will have to pay for his own lawyer?

    • Jaded says:

      I think it’s to establish how traumatized Virginia was when they first met. She was totally honest with him about her past and how it damaged her, and he said he didn’t care, that it was love at first sight and she continues to be the love of his life. He gave her a safe, loving haven after some dreadful years, and they seem to have a solid, tight-knit marriage and 3 great kids.