Royal Family is safe from another Prince Andrew scandal, here's the real reason why

TW: mentions of sexual assault and groping

The Royal Family has been at the receiving end of the consequences of Prince Andrew’s disgraced past for a while now. Months after Virginia Giuffre’s case was settled outside the court, the Duke of York was just beginning to come back to his royal public life but it may be hindered again. Johanna Sjoberg - one of the many women to have accused Jeffrey Epstein of abuse - also accused Prince Andrew of groping her.

The Duke was allegedly scared of facing another sexual assault case against Johanna Sjoberg and the Royal Family would’ve become collateral damage as well.

Johanna Sjoberg fails to file a case against Prince Andrew

It was understood that Johanna would also file a case against the Duke after Virginia Giuffre. However, that has not happened - saving the Royal Family from months of disgrace. According to The Mirror, Johanna Sjoberg had until a month ago to file her case against the royal but did not do so.

Meaning, Prince Andrew is saved from becoming embroiled in a second civil case in New York, the first of which cost him a reported £12 million in an out-of-court settlement to Virginia Giuffre. Sources close to the disgraced Duke confirmed that he’s ‘mightily relieved’ not to have faced another court case in the States at a time when he’s starting to be seen in public with the Royal Family again. He was recently seen with the family on the royal Christmas service walk with Sarah Ferguson.

Who is Johanna Sjoberg and what are her accusations against Prince Andrew?

Johanna was one of the many victims of Jeffrey Epstein’s circle of abuse. After Virginia Giuffre’s case came to light, Johanna also asserted that she was encouraged to interact sexually with both Epstein and Prince Andrew.

According to The Sun, as a young student in 1999, she was approached by a 'female associate of Epstein's - British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell - and offered a job answering phones'. The allegations are laid out in written evidence given by Johanna for a 2015 defamation suit filed against Maxwell by Virginia Guiffre.

It was reported that Johanna visited Epstein at his New York mansion and 'was asked to perform sexual massages for him and punished if she didn't cause him to orgasm'. She also claimed that she accompanied Virginia and Epstein to visit the Duke at Balmoral in mid-1999.

Her groping accusations stem from an incident that took place at Jeffrey Epstein’s New York mansion in March 2001 when she was 21. Prince Andrew was playing with a Spitting Image puppet of himself and groped her. She said:

I just remember someone suggesting a photo and they told us to get on the couch. And so Virginia and Andrew sat on the couch and they put the puppet on her lap.

And so I sat on Andrew’s lap, I believe of my own volition, and they took the puppet’s hands and put it on Virginia’s breast and so Andrew put his on mine.

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Sources Used

Mirror: Prince Andrew avoids another sex assault case - but braces for more allegations

The Sun: Who is Johanna Sjoberg and what claims has she made against Jeffrey Epstein and Prince Andrew?