Prince Andrew says he couldn't have had sex with a 17-year-old because he was at a Pizza Express on the day in question

His accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, has alleged that she was coerced into having sex with the Prince on three occasions in 2001 and 2002, and paid for the encounters by Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew said he remembered the Pizza Express detail "weirdly distinctly" because "going to Pizza Express in [the town of] Woking is an unusual thing for me to do. A very unusual thing for me to do."
The Prince also said Giuffre's recollection of him "profusely sweating" was false he said he didn't sweat at the time because of a medical condition he developed during the Falklands War.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

Prince Andrew offered up a number of bizarre alibis in a BBC interview that he said proved that he never had sex with his accuser, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, when she was just 17 years old.

Giuffre has alleged that she was coerced into having sex with the Prince on three occasions and paid for the encounters by Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died by suicide in August.

But in Prince Andrew's interview with the BBC that aired Saturday, he insisted he had "no recollection" of ever meeting Giuffre.

He zeroed in on one alleged encounter that Giuffre has said occurred in London on March 10, 2001. He said he recalled being at a Pizza Express that day, and not out dining and dancing with Giuffre, as she alleged.

"On that particular day, that we now understand is the date which is the 10th of March, I was at home. I was with the children and I'd taken Beatrice to a Pizza Express in Woking for a party at I suppose, sort of, four or five in the afternoon. And then because the duchess [of York] was away, we have a simple rule in the family that when one is away, the other one is there."

The BBC's Emily Maitlis pressed him on his story: "Why would you remember that so specifically?Why would you remember a Pizza Express birthday and being at home?"

Prince Andrew replied, "Because going to Pizza Express in Woking is an unusual thing for me to do. A very unusual thing for me to do. I've only been to Woking a couple of times and I remember it weirdly distinctly."

The exchange soon sent the internet abuzz with jokes about the Pizza Express, with the chain itself even weighing in.

Prince Andrew said he didnt sweat, as Giuffre had described, because of a medical condition he developed during the Falklands War

But the Pizza Express alibi wasn't the only odd detail that Prince Andrew offered up as a way to disprove Giuffre's claims.

At one point, Maitlis described several details that Giuffre recalled about the night in question: "She was very specific about that night, she described dancing with you, and you profusely sweating"

The Prince scoffed in response, and said the detail couldn't be true.

"There's a slight problem with the sweating. Because I have a peculiar condition, which is that I didn't sweat at the time because I had suffered what I would describe as an overdose of adrenaline in the Falklands War when I was shot at," the Prince said.

He continued: "I simply it was almost impossible of me to sweat. It's only because I have done a number of recent things in the past that I am starting to be able to do that again. So I'm afraid to say there's a medical condition that says I didn't do it, so therefore."

Prince Andrew, who is the Duke of York, is the third child of Queen Elizabeth II. He has faced heightened scrutiny over his friendship with Epstein, who was arrested in July 2019 and charged with sex trafficking and conspiracy.