A lawyer for the woman who was suing him called the Duchess “someone who can be relied on to tell the truth”.

Prince Andrew’s civil lawsuit, stemming from the royal’s alleged friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and brought by Virginia Giuffre, who accuses Andrew of sexual misconduct when she was 17, has already had major repercussions for the royal family. Prince Charles and Prince William would be united in their decision to prevent Andrew from resuming royal duties, and simultaneously worried about how the matter would affect the Queen. It also has an impact on the image of the royal family with the public, as evidenced by the Anonymous woman knocks on Prince Andrew’s window last week, and the sentence “Abolish the monarchy” trending on twitter following news of the prosecution.

Now, another pending ruling in the case could create even greater divisions within the cabinet. According to the Daily Beast, Meghan Markle could be invited to testify against Prince Andrew as a witness in the trial. The case has been taken to the United States and David Boies, Giuffre’s lawyer, told the publication that this could make Meghan a good subject for a subpoena, which would force her to make a statement to the court.

The boys explained:

“One; she’s in the United States, so we have jurisdiction over her. Two; she’s someone who obviously, at least for a time, was a close associate of Prince Andrew and is therefore able to to have maybe seen what he did, and maybe if not to have seen what he did to have heard people talk about it. Due to his past association with him, she may very well have important knowledge, and will certainly have some knowledge. Three; someone you can count on to tell the truth. She ticks all three boxes.

Boies also indicated that while Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s ex-wife, as well as their daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, would be the targets of subpoenas, having jurisdiction over them as British citizens presents challenges. additional. “We would probably take a statement or two from people close to Andrew who knew of his actions. This could include his ex-wife. It could be his brother, ”he said.

However, when asked if he would depose Andrew’s mother i.e. Queen Elizabeth II, Boies declined. He cited “respect and deference” as well as her age as reasons for not pursuing a testimony, and added: “I don’t think she will have knowledge that others do not have. I think it’s unlikely that he spoke as freely to his mother about some of these things as he could have done to his contemporaries or to his ex-wife.

Giuffre’s trial must survive a pending motion to dismiss Prince Andrew’s team on January 4 for the case to move forward, but the threat of a deposition could create a sort of dead end for everyone involved. .

We will update as more information becomes available.