Prince Andrew is reportedly dreading the upcoming New Year after discovering that his name will be listed among over 170 individuals connected to Jeffrey Epstein in a collection of court documents that will soon be made public.
The Daily Mail reported on Sunday that the Duke of York is deeply troubled by the upcoming release of documents related to a defamation lawsuit filed by Virginia Roberts Giuffre against Ghislaine Maxwell in 2015. The lawsuit has since been settled.
According to a source, Andrew’s name is mentioned in the documents, and those close to him are worried about his mental state.
The British royal lost his HRH title and some of his patronages last year due to his association with a sex offender.
According to sources, he is now facing another Christmas without his mother, and his name is being dragged through the mud once again in the New Year.
Andrew, who is 63 years old, is expected to spend Christmas at Sandringham with his brother, King Charles III, and other royal family members.
Last week, Manhattan Federal Judge Loretta Preska ordered the release of documents that name scores of people with links to Epstein. Epstein killed himself in his jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
The ruling requires the public identification of dozens of individuals, previously referred to as ‘Jane Does’ or ‘John Does’ in court filings related to Giuffre’s lawsuit when the materials are unsealed in January.
The individuals, who include Epstein victims and former employees, have 14 days to appeal the decision, according to the order.
The ruling states that several people who may be identified in the unsealed papers have previously spoken to the media about their working relationships with the convicted pedophile or how he abused them over the years.
The defamation suit settled in 2017 for an undisclosed amount, centered on Giuffre’s claim that Maxwell defamed her by saying she was lying about being sex-trafficked by Epstein as a teenager.
Andrew had his arm around a then-17-year-old Giuffre in a now-infamous photograph while Maxwell smiled in the background.
Maxwell was convicted in late 2021 of recruiting and grooming underage girls for Epstein to abuse between 1994 and 2004.