A second attempt to have Britain's Prince Andrew testify under oath has failed.
Prince Andrew
Lawyers acting for Virginia Roberts - who claims she had sex with the prince three times when she was 17 - tried to serve legal papers on the 54-year-old royal via the British Embassy in Washington but they were returned to sender as the Foreign Office said sending them that was was not the "appropriate way" for them to be served.
They added in a statement: "Documents were incorrectly sent to our embassy in Washington.
"As they were not served via the appropriate channels, we are returning the documents so they can be sent by the agreed international channels for the transmission of legal papers."
Virginia's lawyer, Jack Scarola, confirmed the failure, which came after an initial letter sent to Buckingham Palace was not accepted but sent back by couriers FedEx.
Andrew's accuser claims she was paid £10,000 by the royal's former friend Jeffrey Epstein to have sex with the prince, once in London, again at the financier's home in New York and as part of an "orgy" in the Caribbean.
The prince and Buckingham Palace have vehemently denied the allegations.
Tagged in Prince Andrew