Prince Andrew spotted with Sarah Ferguson visiting the Queen at Balmoral

Prince Andrew has been spotted visiting the Queen at Balmoral Castle in Scotland.

The embattled Duke of York was seen driving on the private estate, with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson in the car with him, in photos published by the Daily Mail.

The trip to see his mother, who spends her summers in Scotland, comes just 24 hours after a lawsuit was filed in New York against Prince Andrew by one of Jeffrey Epstein's accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

The 61-year-old has not yet made any public comment on the new court filings but has previously denied all allegations made against him by Ms Giuffre.

Prince Andrew has 21 days to respond in court.

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It's not known if the timing of the Duke and Duchess of York's trip was intentional or purely coincidental, as the pair have been up to visit Her Majesty previously during her Scottish stays.

Prince Andrew had been visiting the Queen when news of Epstein's death broke in August 2019.

At the time, his ex-wife stood steadfastly by his side, and accompanied the Duke on a trip overseas amid intense media scrutiny.

After a TV interview with BBC's Newsnight, where the Duke discussed his relationship with the US businessman and convicted sex offender, Fergie spoke out in defence of her ex-husband.

"When I talk about Prince Andrew, I talk about family because the last six months have been hard on the girls and me," she said at the time to Vogue Arabia.

"To see such a wonderful man go through such enormous pain. He is the best man I know. It's just incredible what he has done for Britain, and it's all nonsense".

The fallout from the interview led to Prince Andrew announcing he would "step back from public duties" in November 2019.

He also resigned as patron of many charitable causes and his pet projects, including Pitch@Palace.