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Prince Andrew won’t come to US for sex-assault testimony, sources say

Embattled Prince Andrew will not travel to New York to give testimony in his sex assault lawsuit, multiple sources have told The Post.

The Duke of York — who was stripped of his military titles and HRH styling by his mother, Queen Elizabeth — will instead give a deposition to be transmitted live from London, in the sexual-assault civil suit brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

The case does not yet have a court date. Sources said there is no legal reason for Andrew to be in the US.

Previously, a source close to Giuffre told The Post: “It would be very bad for him not to be present, it’s unthinkable…”

Meanwhile, speculation is swirling about what could happen next for the disgraced royal if he loses the lawsuit.

Andrew has been busy freeing up his assets, including selling his $23.7 million Swiss chalet, as one royal insider told The Post that inside the palace, officials hope he will settle with Giuffre — seeing it as the “least worst option.”

In the midst of battling a court case with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Prince Andrew is freeing up his assets, including selling his $23.7 million Swiss chalet. EPA

But he won’t lose his UK home. In 2003, Andrew signed a 75-year lease for his manor, Royal Lodge, at a one-off fee of $1.4 million (£1 million) to the Crown Estate.

That’s the equivalent of around $339 (£250) a week in rent. The 30-room home is believed to be worth at least $40 million (£30 million) on the open market.

A complex organization, the Crown Estate is essentially a multimillion-dollar property portfolio owned by the Queen as long as she’s on the throne. However, she’s not involved in management decisions.

Andrew’s mother, Queen Elizabeth, recently took away his military and HRH titles. Getty Images

“Andrew certainly won’t be made homeless,” Joe Little, Majesty magazine managing editor, told The Post. “The lease has been granted.”

Last Friday, Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson — with whom he shares Royal Lodge — were seen there before going on a shoot at Windsor Great Park, according to the Sun.

The event was believed to have been a Christmas present from the Queen to Andrew’s younger daughter, Princess Eugenie, 31, and her husband, Jack Brooksbank, who invited along family friends.

Andrew has daughters Beatrice (left) and Eugenie (right) with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson. WireImage

Andrew, 61, and Fergie, 62, did not go on the shoot itself, but were seen driving to join the shooting party for lunch at the members-only York Club.

The Royal Lodge was the longtime country home of Andrew’s grandparents, King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, later known as the Queen Mother.

Despite having his HRH styling taken away from him, Andrew is still ninth in the line of succession to the throne. Asked whether Andrew could be removed from the line of succession to the throne, Little said: “Given that he’s gone from second [after his older brother, Prince Charles] to ninth, this would serve no purpose.”

Sarah Ferguson still lives with her ex-husband, Andrew. Getty Images

Duncan Larcombe, the former royal editor of the Sun, agreed: “It’s unlikely to happen, ever, because Andrew would be able to argue you can’t just cut him out of the family as it were, like a will.

“The Queen has done virtually everything that she can do now, but there is one thing left — stripping him of the title of Duke of York and Prince. That would be the ultimate humiliation,” Larcombe added. “Conceivably, if the court case does not go his way at all, and there is a genuine backlash in Britain — if he became public enemy number one — the Queen could look at that and make him just ‘Andrew.'”

Andrew had been keen to make a return to public life, according to those who know him, before Giuffre’s case was given the go-ahead last week.

Queen Elizabeth has stripped her son of military and royal titles. She is unlikely to remove him entirely from the royal family and his place in line for the throne. Samir Hussein/WireImage

But palace insiders also told The Post that there is “no chance” that Andrew will now try to make a comeback by writing a book, or embark on a speaking tour, as it would be “fraught with difficulty.”

Despite everything, Andrew is said to be in “good spirits,” according to one person who knows him in the UK.

Giuffre claims she was forced to sleep with the royal three times when she was 17 and being kept as a sex slave by Andrew’s former friends Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Andrew has repeatedly denied Giuffre’s claims.

Virginia Roberts Giuffre claims she was forced to sleep with Andrew when she was 17. Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Attorneys for both sides are in the middle of digging up more evidence and calling witnesses.

As The Post revealed, Giuffre’s legal team is getting ready to put its “discovery” evidence in front of Judge Lewis Kaplan this summer, which reportedly includes testimony from one unnamed woman who recalls being told to get ready for Andrew at Epstein’s Upper East Side mansion.

Reps for Andrew declined to comment.