Prince Andrew settles debt on Swiss chalet ahead of potential sale
Prince Andrew has settled the outstanding debt on his seven-bedroom Swiss ski chalet, potentially enabling him to sell it in order to finance his court costs.
The previous owner of the £17 million home in Verbier had taken the Prince to court after he allegedly failed to pay the final installment. However, Isabelle de Rouvre recently told the MailOnline, “The war is over. He has paid the money.”
That could mean that last week’s trip to the chalet by ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and daughters Beatrice and Eugenie could be the last time the family visits.
Multiple reports have said the Duke of York wants to sell the property in order to raise money for his legal battle with Virginia Giuffre, who is suing Andrew for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager, and who is seeking unspecified damages, which could amount to millions of dollars. The Queen has reportedly refused to fund any court bill or potential settlement, forcing Andrew to find the money himself.
It’s thought that Andrew paid between £17 million and £18 million for the chalet in 2014, agreeing to pay in installments. £13 million came from a mortgage and the rest was to be paid in cash, but de Rouvre, a French socialite, accused them of not paying the final £5 million in 2019, and took the issue to court, seeking payment as well as £1.6 million in interest. The total amount sought by Ms de Rouvre worked out to roughly $12,477,522AUD.
Ms de Rouvre told the MailOnline, “I sold it two months ago, or was it one. Maybe six weeks ago.
“Anyway, I sold it to the Yorks and we made an agreement. That is the end of the story thankfully. The war is finished. It is the end of the matter. I have nothing to do with it now. That’s all.
“I don’t know what they are doing now. They were here at Christmas but I only know that because I read it in the press. I did not see them. So Happy Christmas and that’s that. The end.”
The sale of the chalet would leave Andrew owning no property in either the UK or abroad.
The duke is awaiting a ruling from Judge Lewis Kaplan on whether he will face a full civil court case over the allegations, which he has consistently denied. His legal team has argued Ms Giuffre waived her right to sue when she signed a $500,000 settlement agreement with Jeffrey Epstein in 2009.
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