Prince Andrew believes he can 'demolish' Virginia Giuffre's story - report

Prince Andrew is determined to clear his name with a source close to the Duke of York reportedly suggesting he is prepared to show patience and resilience to "demolish" the claims made about him by Virginia Giuffre.

Giuffre has alleged that Andrew sexually assaulted her three times while she was underage – in Ghislaine Maxwell's London home, in Epstein's New York mansion and on his private island Little St James in the US Virgin Islands.

Andrew has vehemently denied the allegations, but settled a civil case brought by Giuffre in the US out of court last year – which was reported to be worth £12m.

Last week, Yahoo UK's royal executive editor – Omid Scobie – reported that since his mother Queen Elizabeth's death, Andrew is "keen to prove" he is innocent of these allegations and that he only agreed to the out of court settlement to "protect his mother from any further shame or embarrassment".

"The death of his mother has meant he feels comfortable revisiting this, regardless of any discomfort it may bring to the family," a friend of the prince said.

"He has always maintained his innocence and now he is keen to prove it."

Now sources close to Andrew have echoed these sentiments to The Sunday Times, claiming the duke believes strongly there is still a way back for him to public life, despite the fact he has been coined the "'Millwall' of the Royal Family" – a reference to the football chant 'no one likes us, we don't care' about the club's unpopularity.

"Except he does care," a source was quoted by The Sunday Times as saying. "[Alan] Dershowitz has made it clear that if the documents are unsealed, it will demolish the established narrative."

Last year, Giuffre dropped a claim of defamation in the US against Dershowitz – Epstein's ex-lawyer and Harvard Law School professor – after admitting she may have made a "mistake" in identifying him as one of the men Epstein and Maxwell forced her to sleep with. She put this error down to the "traumatic" nature of the years she endured as a victim of sex trafficking.

Dershowitz dropped his countersuit in response, but has called for the documents in the initial case to be unsealed out of public interest and has told The Independent about Giuffre's error that he commended her "for finally coming forward".

"I commend her for finally coming forward and acknowledging that she may have made a mistake in identifying me because of the trauma that she went through," he said.

The source told The Sunday Times: "People underestimate the duke’s resilience and patience. It has been more than three years since the interview, eight years since the accusation and 12 years since the publication of that photo.

"What's a few more months, if the evidence is unsealed this year and the story turns on its head?

"There is very much a feeling among those of us who resolutely support the duke, that this is only a half-written story."

The report in The Sunday Times said that Andrew "believes that the sealed documents in the case, including a deposition, may help him if they are made public."

It is understood that Andrew's attempts at a comeback are not publicly supported by the King.

Watch: Prince Andrew's moments fleeting in S5 of The Crown - likely so we don't feel sorry for him