Prince Andrew has met with his mother, the Queen, at the  private Scottish retreat of Balmoral Castle, 24 hours after being sued by Jeffrey Epstein-accuser Virginia Giuffre.

The Duke of York arrived at the monarch’s private residence with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson for their annual August getaway, according to the Daily Mail.

Ms Giuffre’s lawyers filed the civil suit seeking unspecified damages at a federal court in New York.

The court documents claim she was “lent out for sexual purposes” by convicted sex offender Epstein including while she was still a minor under US law.

Andrew is named as the only defendant in the 15-page suit, brought under New York state’s Child Victims Act, though Epstein and his former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell are mentioned frequently throughout.

Ms Giuffre’s lawsuit stated: “In this country no person, whether president or prince, is above the law, and no person, no matter how powerless or vulnerable, can be deprived of the law’s protection.

“Twenty years ago Prince Andrew’s wealth, power, position, and connections enabled him to abuse a frightened, vulnerable child with no one there to protect her. It is long past the time for him to be held to account.”

The allegations say she was sexually abused by Andrew when she was 17 and that he knew she was the teenage victim of sex trafficking.

Andrew has vehemently denied the allegations in the past, and a spokesman for the duke said there was “no comment” when she was asked to respond to Ms Giuffre’s legal action.

The lawyer representing the Duke of York’s accuser has warned against anyone ignoring the US courts as he claimed the royal’s legal team have “stonewalled” appeals for information.

In his Newsnight interview with the BBC’s Emily Maitlis, Andrew denied claims that he slept with Ms Giuffre on three separate occasions, saying: “I can absolutely categorically tell you it never happened. I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.”

The duke also said he has no memory of a well-known photograph of him with his arm around Ms Giuffre’s waist at Maxwell’s house, and has questioned whether it was his own hand in the image.

The monarch’s annual stay at Balmoral is the first time she has holidayed on her private estate since the death of her husband the Duke of Edinburgh.

Scotland has been a welcome place of sanctuary for the royal family since Queen Victoria’s day as they relax and enjoy country pursuits in the stunning setting of the Highlands.