Over the weekend, the headlines surrounding a royal and his ‘sex slave’ were unavoidable.

News outlets around the world claimed 54-year-old Prince Andrew, Duke of York, had relations with an underage girl, now named as Virginia Roberts, a claim that the royal is strenuously denying.

Virginia, now aged 30, alleges she was forced by her then-employer, convicted sex offender and former billionaire financier Jeffrey Epstein, to have sex with the prince at a house in London. She was 17 at the time.

In claims made in US court documents, where Virginia is referred to as Jane Doe #3, the allegations are shocking and hard to read. It is alleged Epstein forced Virginia to have sex with the prince in a number of places – New York, London and a private island – as part of an orgy with other under-age girls.

Prince Andrew. Image via Getty. 

Epstein, who was convicted on state child sex charges in 2008, is accused of soliciting the relationship between Prince Andrew and Virginia.

Virginia said she was unaware what she was getting herself into when she accepted an offer to work for Epstein.

“I was wearing my uniform – a white miniskirt and a skintight white polo top and studying an anatomy book when I was approached by this striking woman in her mid-40s with a very proper British accent – Ghislaine,” she told told The Mail on Sunday.

“She noticed what I was reading and I told her I wanted to become a masseuse and she said she worked for a very wealthy gentleman called Jeffrey Epstein who was looking for a travelling masseuse and I’d get training and be paid large amounts of money.”

But, she alleges, the reality soon set in.

“It was a sick family. I was a paedophile’s top girl, being trained up for a British Prince. He trained me to do whatever a man wanted. I was worried, but I would do anything to keep Jeffrey happy and keep my place as his No 1 girl.”

The first night she met the Duke, Virginia says she was flown to London to have sex with him.

Her father told a UK paper, “Virginia told me a few years back that she met Prince Andrew when she went to London. She also said while they were there she met the Queen. She was so excited about meeting the Queen. She had been flown to London by Jeffrey. He would fly her all over the world and she would give him massages on his private jet.”

Buckingham Palace have been forced to deny the claims. “There is nothing to suggest that this claim is true. We have no record of such a meeting,” a spokesperson said.

Prince Andrew with his family. Princess Eugenie, Sophie Countess of Wessex, Princess Beatrice, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward. Image via Oli Scarff/Getty Images. 

But Virginia has come forward with her own version of events from that night in London, telling The Mail:

“When I went downstairs, Ghislaine and Jeffrey were in the lounge… There was a knock at the door. There was a car outside with two men, who I think were security. Ghislaine led Andrew in and introduced me and we kissed each other on the cheek as I’d been told is the English custom.

Then Ghislaine played one of her favourite guessing games. She asked Andrew how old he thought I was and he guessed 17 and they all kind of laughed about it and Ghislaine made a joke that I was getting too old for Jeffrey. She said, “He’ll soon have to trade her in…

We went on to Tramp. We were led into a VIP area and Andrew got me a cocktail from the bar then he asked me to dance. He was the most hideous dancer I had ever seen. He was grabbing my hips and he was pouring with perspiration and he had this cheesy smile. I was used to being used for sex by men but it was not behaviour that I was used to in public, and not from a Prince who had daughters.

All of us went upstairs and I asked Jeffrey to snap a picture of me with the Prince. I wanted something to show my Mom. Ghislaine and Jeffrey left us after that.

In the morning, Ghislaine said, “You did well. He had fun.” We flew straight back to the States. I suspected that the only reason we went to London was that I was a “gift” to Andrew.”

Virginia claims she was paid $15,000 by Epstein for that visit as a reward for sleeping with Prince Andrew.

“The Prince didn’t give me money with his own hands,’ she added. ‘Jeffrey always took care of paying me after I ‘entertained’ his friends.’

Prince Andrew. Image via Getty. 

“I was totally under Jeffrey’s spell. I was his personal sex slave.”

As the allegations gain pace, the prince has had to fly home from a holiday in Switzerland and issue a statement denying the claims, a very unusual move from a member of the royal family.

Buckingham Palace has now issued three separate statements saying the story is false.

“It is emphatically denied that the Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts. Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation,” the latest statement from Buckingham Palace said.