Earlier this week, we reported that Prince Andrew had been hit with a lawsuit from Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre alleging that the royal had sex with her when she was under the age of 18.

Now, friends of Andrew’s are saying that his old friend Ghislaine Maxwell will step up to give evidence to help him fight this lawsuit.

“Ghislaine will be prepared to give evidence on the Duke’s behalf,” an anonymous friend of the disgraced British socialite told The Telegraph.

“By the time the case against the Duke gets to court, Ghislaine will either be convicted and serving up to 85 years in jail [or if] cleared of course she would help Prince Andrew,” the friend continued. “They have been friends for a very long time. It is highly likely Ghislaine will offer to assist him.”

Legal experts have warned that this lawsuit will be very bad for Andrew, with one saying, “It will be a train wreck for him. This case is a grenade waiting to go off.”

Giuffre claimed in her lawsuit that she suffered “severe and lasting” damage from her encounters with Andrew.

“In this country no person, whether president or prince, is above the law, and no person, no matter how powerless or vulnerable, can be deprived of the law’s protection,” her lawsuit stated, according to Daily Mail. “Twenty years ago Prince Andrew’s wealth, power, position, and connections enabled him to abuse a frightened, vulnerable child with no one there to protect her. It is long past the time for him to be held to account.”

Giuffre told The New York Post that she “did not come to this decision lightly” to file her lawsuit, but insisted that her lawsuit would ultimately prove that she “was trafficked to him and sexually abused by him.”

“I am holding Prince Andrew accountable for what he did to me,” she said. “The powerful and rich are not exempt from being held responsible for their actions.”

Andrew has denied the claims made by Giuffre.

“It didn’t happen. I can absolutely categorically tell you it never happened,” Andrew said. “I have no recollection of ever meeting this lady, none whatsoever.”