The civil suit against Prince Andrew has wider implications for the British royal family

The Queen was welcomed back to her beloved Scottish estate, Balmoral Castle, Monday for her annual summer residency Monday. Less than 24 hours later, Britain's royal family was dragged back into crisis as it emerged Prince Andrew was being sued.

Instead, less than 24 hours into the vacation, Britain's royal family was dragged back into crisis as it emerged Prince Andrew was being sued in New York by a woman who alleges she was sexually abused by the senior royal when she was 17. This is not the first time a member of the family has faced legal action, CNN historian and royal expert Kate Williams says. She points out that Prince Charles was sued by a law student in 1978 following an appearance in Ohio. The student sued for alleged deprivation of "various rights guaranteed by the (US) Constitution," (though the case did not progress). And in 2002, Princess Anne became the first member of the royal family to be convicted of a criminal offense, pleading guilty to a charge when her dog bit two children in a park. But those cases pale in comparison with allegations of sexual assault of a minor.