Royal courtiers fear the Duke of York is being failed by the strategy pursued by his London-based legal team, amid growing concern that his "wall of silence" is increasingly damaging the monarchy.
There is widespread unease about the tactics employed since he was accused of sexually abusing a 17-year-old, which increasingly appear to have backfired.
Prince Andrew, 61, is "stressed" and "worried" and there is a distinct change of mood in his camp, sources admit, as the pressure to respond to the allegations intensifies and he faces the prospect of a legal battle that could drag on for years, costing millions.
A royal source told The Telegraph: "There is growing disquiet over the advice being given to the Duke by his London legal team in the face of this potentially highly damaging lawsuit which also has wider reputational implications for the institution of the monarchy.
"The legal team's wall of silence and policy of evasion only adds to the impression [that] the Duke has something to hide and there is widespread concern that things have been allowed to get to this point."
This picture shows Virginia Roberts photographed with Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell in early 2001. Photo / Supplied
The Duke hired Gary Bloxsome, a UK criminal defence solicitor, in early 2020, just weeks after his disastrous Newsnight interview, in which he failed to show any empathy for Jeffrey Epstein's victims or regret over their friendship.
The pair are understood to have been introduced by a mutual friend, and Bloxsome's initial brief was to fend off an FBI inquiry into his friendship with the convicted paedophile.
Yet the decision not to fully engage with the legal process saw US prosecutors publicly humiliate the Duke, announcing on camera that he had provided "zero co-operation".
Bloxsome, a partner at Blackfords law firm, appears to have adopted a strategy of non-engagement in the face of the allegations, presumably convinced that the repeated requests for the Duke's input would eventually evaporate.
He pursued the same tactic when the Duke's long-time accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, sued him for undisclosed damages in August, accusing him of "rape in the first degree".
Giuffre claims she was forced to have sex with the Duke when she was 17, in London, at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse and on his Caribbean island - a claim he has vehemently denied.
The Duke has not offered any formal legal response to the civil action. In June 2020, his legal team said he had offered to help the inquiry into Epstein on "at least three occasions".
Pressure to respond
The overall strategy is now feared to have proved a disaster for Prince Andrew, who is under increasing pressure to respond to the claim in court and faces a potentially damaging disclosure process.
Meanwhile, his reputation, and that of the wider Royal family, has taken a battering, with experts declaring that he has already lost in the court of public opinion.
Buckingham Palace has largely been kept in the dark about his legal strategy, with Bloxsome and his associates answering solely to the Duke, a source claimed.
But there is a dawning realisation that the British team is simply not in a position to manage a case brought under US law.
It has become clear that the stonewalling tactic has not impressed the New York judge presiding over the case, Lewis Kaplan, who has warned them against wasting time and money on technicalities.
There was astonishment within the Duke's own inner circle that he had only instructed an American lawyer to represent him in the New York civil action a fortnight ago.
Meanwhile, Giuffre's lawyer, David Boies, has capitalised on the Duke's continued silence, giving a string of strident television and media interviews, ensuring he has dominated coverage.
He accused Prince Andrew of stonewalling him for five years, as he "made every effort" to reach out and hear his side of the story.
Having been ignored, he said they were left with no choice but to sue.
On Friday, Bloxsome, who has defended British troops against war crime allegations and whose clients include "leading companies and ultra-high net worth individuals" in international jurisdictions, and his team were given one week to challenge a High Court decision to formally notify the Duke of the lawsuit.
Bloxsome did not respond to The Telegraph's request for comment.
