Prince Andrew Wants Trial by Jury, Despite Being Despised by British People

Prince Andrew demanded a jury trial in his Jeffrey Epstein case—even though polling suggests widespread dislike of him among Britons.

The Duke of York's lawyers say he would like to be tried by 12 members of the public rather than a judge in his New York sexual abuse civil lawsuit.

Virginia Giuffre says she was forced to have sex with him on the orders of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell when she was 17.

A court filing seen by Newsweek reads: "Prince Andrew hereby demands a trial by jury on all causes of action asserted in the Complaint."

The last time the prince made his case to ordinary people was during an interview with the BBC's Emily Maitlis after which his denials, including that he could not sweat, were ridiculed.

Pollsters YouGov have him on a U.K. net approval rating of -50—comfortably the lowest of any member of the royal family.

Surveys in late 2021 suggested 62 percent disliked him compared to only 12 percent who were supportive while 19 percent said they were neutral.

Those figures are a product of rolling year-round research and are not actually his lowest either.

One poll by YouGov in March suggested 79 percent of Britons had a negative opinion of him compared to 11 percent who felt positively.

Of those critical of the duke, 55 percent said they felt very negatively and 24 percent said they were fairly negative about him.

Prince Andrew's legal team issued widespread denials of the allegations against him and put forward several defenses, suggesting he will go after his accuser's reputation.

A court filing said he will argue: "Giuffre's alleged causes of action are barred in whole or in part by her own wrongful conduct and the doctrine of unclean hands."

The prince says he does not recall meeting Giuffre and that they did not have sex, however, his legal team also argued a defense based around consent.

The filing read: "Assuming, without admitting, that Giuffre has suffered any injury or damage alleged in the Complaint, Giuffre's claims are barred by the doctrine of consent."

They also said any damage she experienced was caused "in whole or in part" by "others, who are not Prince Andrew," in an apparent reference to Epstein.

Andrew's team indicated they will again argue Giuffre cannot bring the claim because she is a resident of Australia, not America, and was too late in filing the lawsuit.

They will also again fall back on a 2009 settlement agreement Giuffre signed with Epstein, which they claim released the prince from liability.

Those final three defenses got little traction with Judge Lewis Kaplan in a January 4 hearing but the duke's attorney may get a chance to argue the point again.

Prince Andrew's court filing states that he is "denying any and all wrongdoing."