UK court to ensure sexual assault papers can be served on Prince Andrew

LONDON, Sept 15 (Reuters) - London’s High Court said on Wednesday it would take steps if necessary to serve papers on Britain’s Prince Andrew in a U.S. lawsuit brought by a woman who accuses him of sexually assaulting her two decades ago.

The prince, Queen Elizabeth’s second son, is accused by Virginia Giuffre of assaulting her when she was 17, at a time she says she was being abused by the financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Last week, Giuffre’s legal team said it had tried to serve papers on Andrew by leaving the documents with a police officer at his home in southern England. The prince’s lawyers told the U.S. District Court in Manhattan they had not been properly served under English law and the Hague Convention.

A spokesperson for London’s High Court said the issue about how claims could be served on parties in different jurisdictions was governed by the Hague Service Convention, which requires requests to be made and approved by the relevant authority in each country.