Former Royal Assistant to Prince Philip accused of sexual assault on 12 year old.
July 31, 2014 ·
The Guardian Thursday 31 July 2014
Benjamin Herman is accused of indecent assault of a girl aged 12 when he was Philip’s personal assistant in 1970. Buckingham Palace has declined to comment after Benjamin Herman, a former aide to Prince Philip, was charged with sex offences against a child. Buckingham Palace has declined to comment after Benjamin Herman, a former aide to Prince Philip, was charged with indecent assault of a girl.
The former personal assistant of Prince Philip has been charged with sexually abusing a girl while he was working for the royal family in the 1970s, prosecutors have said.
Benjamin Herman, now 79, was the personal assistant or “equerry” to the 93-year-old husband of Queen Elizabeth from 1971 to 1974.
A spokesman for the UK Crown Prosecution Service said Herman would appear in court on Monday.
“He is charged with three counts of indecent assault between 1972 and 1974 on a girl aged around 12,” the spokesman said.
Herman’s role was to attend to Philip’s engagements and personal matters, and he later became the head of the household of Philip’s daughter Princess Anne.
The Daily Mirror reported that police had examined Philip’s official diaries from the time and taken statements from former palace staff.
A police spokesman would not comment on whether former palace staff had been interviewed and a spokesman for Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
He said: “Officers from Wandsworth CID investigating an allegation of historical sexual assault which occurred between 1972 and 1974 at a location in Putney arrested a 79-year-old man.
“He was subsequently bailed to a date in mid-June pending further investigation.”
Britain has been rocked by a series of scandals involving historic child abuse by prominent figures.
The Mirror reported that the alleged victim had come forward following the 2012 revelation that the late BBC presenter Jimmy Savile was a prolific sexual predator, which sparked a wave of investigations.
Earlier this month the prime minister, David Cameron, vowed to leave “no stone unturned” in investigating accusations, including claims of a paedophile ring involving senior politicians in the 1970s and 1980s.
Agence France-Presse and the Press Association contributed to this report
