Prince Andrew is ‘utterly convinced’ he can brush off rape allegations and return to public life as soon as the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee next year, royal sources have reportedly claimed. 

The embattled Duke of York is facing a civil legal claim he sexually abused paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s former sex slave Virginia Giuffre when she was 17, which he denies.

Yesterday he was pictured travelling to the Queen’s Balmoral estate in Scotland after Giuffre’s legal team reportedly attempted to deliver court papers to his doorstep in Windsor.

But despite finding himself in a ‘tsunami of s***’, royal sources were quoted in the media saying the prince is in a ‘buyout mood’ and believes the scandal will soon ‘blow over’.

The duke is said to have a ‘bullish’ attitude to the lawsuit and believes there is still time to salvage his reputation before official celebrations to mark the Queen’s 70 years on the throne next June. 

A source close to him told The Mirror: ‘It is clear he (Andrew) has a clear and burning desire to return to work as soon as possible.

‘That may look entirely impossible but if anything he’s become emboldened in recent weeks and remains utterly convinced he will not only be exonerated but will certainly forge a way back to public life.

‘Certainly he has given the incredibly bullish impression that this will all blow over within a short while, rather than become a protracted issue.’ 

Palace insiders have insisted the duke will ‘not take part’ in any of the official Jubilee celebrations. 

Andrew stepped back from public duties following a car-crash interview over his friendship with Epstein in 2019, when he was accused of showing little empathy for the financier’s victims. 

In the interview he claimed he had no recollection of ever meeting Ms Giuffre, also known as Virgina Roberts, and said he was at Pizza Express on one of the night’s they were alleged to have met. 

Ms Giuffre, now 38, has accused the duke of sexually abusing her at Epstein’s Manhattan mansion as well as his private Caribbean island, and at the London home of his ex-girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell who is currently in a New York jail awaiting sex abuse and grooming charges.

She is claiming damages for emotional harm and distress which could run into millions of pounds if successful.

Andrew has not yet publicly responded to the lawsuit, which was lodged in a US court last month accusing him of ‘rape in the first degree’. 

He has always vehemently denied the claims made by Giuffre, who has previously made the accusations but only recently took them to a formalised legal setting. 

Her lawyer David Boies has said Andrew ‘cannot hide behind wealth and palace walls’ and must respond to the allegations.

But the source who spoke to The Mirror said his plan is to continue to say ‘absolutely nothing’. 

They described his mood as ‘buoyant’, adding:  ‘Andrew claims he hasn’t read the news and hasn’t kept up with what is happening around him, which anyone can see is not only catastrophic for his reputation but very damaging for the wider royal family.’ 

It comes as Giuffre’s legal team are set to return to court on Monday to apply for more time in a case that experts say could go on for ‘up to five years’.

It is understood papers have not yet been served on the duke or his lawyers despite ‘multiple attempts’ at the Royal Lodge in Windsor over the last fortnight. 

 Prince Andrew is now set to stay at the Queen’s 50,000 acre estate in Balmoral while the case is heard, after making the 500-mile round trip there yesterday with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. 

He was said to be ‘going stir-crazy’ at having to remain house-bound for weeks.

A source told The Sun: ‘Andrew was going stir-crazy inside Royal Lodge for the past few weeks. He wasn’t going horse riding and couldn’t step outside because of attempts to serve him with the legal papers.

‘He knows he is far safer up at Balmoral on the Queen’s estate. Andrew is always described as the Queen’s favourite son, but she is meant to be on holiday at Balmoral. 

‘With Andrew and everything that is happening with Charles and the investigation into cash for honours she must be wondering when she will get any peace and quiet.’ 

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

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