Prince Andrew ‘was constant sex pest’ to massage therapist - The Independent

[massage]

A massage therapist who regularly treated Prince Andrew in his bedroom has claimed he was a “constant sex pest” who asked her intimate questions about her sex life.

Emma Gruenbaum, now 50, alleged the Duke of York was a “total creep” and would try to hug her at the end of each of the six sessions they had together in 2005.

She claimed she swore at the Queen’s second son during their first meeting after he made a comment about her bottom and told him “none of your f****** business” when he asked if she “had a*** sex”.

Ms Gruenbaum was a 34-year-old sports massage therapist at Wentworth Club in Surrey in early 2005 when she started treating Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who went on to recommend her services.

She said the duke’s secretary called her up and invited her to the Royal Lodge, in Windsor Great Park, one Sunday afternoon, which she found “unusual”.

The duke allegedly insisted on being naked apart from his own towels during the massages and that the sessions should take place on his own table in his bedroom.

Ms Gruenbaum claimed she was told “not to make a fuss” by a staff member after she expressed her discomfort at the situation.

Describing their first encounter, she said she was attempting to adjust the height of the massage table when she alleges she heard the duke ask her an intimate question about her sex life.

She told The Sun: “I stood up quickly and turned around. I was up against the massage table and he was up against me, eyeball to eyeball. Almost touching, he was really close.

“And I went, ‘None of your f***ing business.’ And he just looked at me in sort of a dead stare and said, ‘You can’t talk to me like that.’ I said, ‘Well you can’t speak to me like that.’

“There was then a momentary silence where I was sort of staring at him and I tried to step sideways and get away from being up against the table. It was just so tense, it was really weird.

“I just said, ‘Look are you going to behave? Get your robe off and lie down and let me do my work. Or am I leaving?’

“And he said, ‘No, I think we’re going to get on just fine.’”


Former sports massage therapist Emma Gruenbaum has claimed Prince Andrew made inappropriate remarks during sessions in 2005


(The Sun)


Ms Gruenbaum claimed the duke kept talking about sex throughout that first massage and asked her when she had last been intimate with someone.

“I had a lot of high-profile clients and often visited their homes,” she told The Sun, “But Andrew was very different. He was a constant sex pest right from the start.”

Ms Gruenbaum, who was a freelancer at the time, said she was not vetted by Buckingham Palace staff as far as she was aware.

Andrew’s office reportedly sent £80 cheques for the 70-minute sessions to Ms Gruenbaum’s home address, as well as a compliment slip from the duke.

The visits were almost weekly for about two months but she then stopped getting calls from his staff to arrange appointments.

“I think it is because he wanted more and he was clearly not going to get anywhere,” she told The Sun. “His advances weren’t working and I think that his patience ran out.”

Ms Gruenbaum spoke out about her experience after Prince Andrew’s legal team claimed his sex abuse accuser may suffer from “false memories”.


Virginia Giuffre has alleged the Duke of York sexually assaulted her as a teenager


(US Department of Justice/PA)


Virginia Giuffre is suing the duke for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager.

She claims she was trafficked by his friend, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, to have sex with the duke when she was 17.

The duke, who has strenuously denied the allegations, is facing a civil jury trial later this year in New York.

Ms Gruenbaum said she did not want to “sit by and not speak out about the way he was towards me as he calls Virginia delusional”.

Prince Andrew’s representatives declined to comment on Ms Gruenbaum’s allegations.