Prince Andrew has been spotted visiting his mother, the UK's Queen Elizabeth II, in Windsor Castle, The Daily Mail reported Friday.
It is the first time the embattled British royal has appeared in public after his former friend Ghislaine Maxwell, the ex-girlfriend and purported sexual procurer for Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted on sex-trafficking charges.
Prince Andrew is facing a civil lawsuit from a reported victim of Epstein, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who accuses him of sexually abusing her when she was 17. Over the course of his ongoing legal defense, Prince Andrew has largely remained in hiding in his Windsor lodge, away from the public eye.
Following Maxwell's guilty verdict, many suggested that it may be a bad signal for Prince Andrew, given the severity of charges against Epstein's ex-girlfriend. The Duke of York previously expressed confidence that the Giuffre lawsuit would be overthrown.
The UK royal denied any wrongdoing, and subsequently accused Giuffre of trying to capitalise on his fame. To convince the judge to dismiss the case, the Duke's lawyers challenged the legal mechanism Giuffre addresses in her case - the New York Child Victims Act - along with her residency status.
According to Prince Andrew, Giuffre, who was 17 at the time of the sexual abuses, had reached the age of consent for New York state. As for residency status, he claims that Giuffre is not a US citizen and therefore the US court does not have jurisdiction over the case.
Giuffre welcomed the guilty verdict against Maxwell underlining that as the latter "didn't act alone", "others must be held accountable".