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Prince Andrew reportedly cancels overseas trip as Ghislaine Maxwell set to face court

Prince Andrew has reportedly called off his annual overseas golfing holiday as US prosecutors look to set a court date for Jeffrey Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

Prosecutors have asked a judge to schedule a Friday court appearance in New York for Maxwell to face charges she helped Epstein recruit women to sexually abuse.

Ms Maxwell, a 58-year-old British socialite, was arrested on Thursday at a Bradford, New Hampshire estate. She has been detained without bail after agreeing to be moved to New York.

Prince Andrew was introduced to Epstein by Maxwell, who he know from university.

Andrew, meanwhile has cancelled his annual golf holiday, with The Sun newspaper reporting he is too “nervous” to leave the UK after the US Justice Department lodged an official request to interview him as a witness over his ties to Epstein.

Andrew travelled to Spain for his annual golf trip last year just days after his Epstein was found dead in his New York jail cell.

US authorities have called on the Prince to cooperate with an investigation into the abuse, while Andrew’s lawyers maintain he has offered his help a number of times.

Andrew has vehemently denied the accusations, most infamously during his train wreck interview on the BBC last November, which subsequently led to his resignation from public duties

Day in court

In a letter to a judge on Sunday, prosecutors said they had communicated with Ms Maxwell’s defence lawyer, who would like a Friday bail hearing after written arguments are submitted by both sides on Thursday and Friday.

Prosecutors said they expect the US Marshals Service to transport Ms Maxwell to New York early this week.

Ms Maxwell has been charged with conspiring to entice girls as young as 14 to engage in illegal sex acts with Epstein from 1994 through to 1997.

Authorities say Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail last August while he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges.

-with AAP

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