Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been served with a witness summons requiring him to give evidence in a fraud trial at the High Court in December.
The former Duke of York is expected to appear around 15 December and will be questioned in a case involving allegations that a wealthy Turkish woman was cheated by her former financial adviser.
Mountbatten-Windsor is not accused of wrong doing.But he could face questions about his financial arrangements because he allegedly received some of the disputed payments, including a transfer of £750,000.
His appearance will be the first time he has faced public questioning since his 2019 BBC Newsnight interview.
He is also believed to be the first member of the Royal Family since the 19th Century to receive a witness summons.
A judge gave permission last month for Mountbatten-Windsor to be called as a witness. The summons was issued this week.
The trial is expected to begin in mid-November. Mountbatten-Windsor is due to give evidence around 15 December, either in person or by video.
The case centres on allegations by NebahatIsbilen, an elderly Turkish woman, who claimed her former adviser, Selman Turk, misled her and used her wealth for his own benefit.
Turk has strongly denied dishonesty.
Court documents show that Isbilen alleged Turk persuaded her to transfer £750,000 to Mountbatten-Windsor by telling her the money would help secure a passport.
Turk denied that account. He said the payment was a gift made voluntarily by Isbilen to build goodwill with the then Duke of York and had nothing to do with a passport.
The payment was made the day after Mountbatten-Windsor recorded his Newsnight interview, which was broadcast the following evening. He later stepped down from royal duties.
Isbilen’s lawyers contacted Mountbatten-Windsor in 2021, and the money was repaid. The forthcoming trial will examine allegations about Turk’s conduct, with Mountbatten-Windsor expected to be a significant witness.
Court documents also refer to another disputed payment of about £768,000 from Isbilen’s account in January 2020.
Turk claimed the money was a loan to Mountbatten-Windsor to help him buy a chalet in Switzerland. Isbilen disputes that explanation, which had also been challenged in earlier court hearings.
Turk met Mountbatten-Windsor in autumn 2019 through Pitch@Palace, a business pitching initiative run by the former duke.
Their connection led to social gatherings involving Turk and his family, Isbilen and the then Duke and Duchess of York.
In an earlier ruling, Justice Adam Johnson said that, given the seriousness of the allegations, Turk should have access to “the evidence he considers relevant and material.”
Turk’s legal representatives, Janes Solicitors, said he denied the allegations of dishonesty and looked forward to being vindicated in court.
Mountbatten-Windsor has been approached for comment.
Erizia Rubyjeana
Follow us on:
