When Jeffrey Epstein was alive, Prince Andrew was mysteriously flush with cash. After Epstein died, Andrew has often been described as broke and needing his mummy to pay for his legal bills and lifestyle. It’s the weirdest thing. Back when Andrew had his mysterious wealth, he “bought” a Swiss chalet in a strange private arrangement with the owner. Basically, Andrew would pay the previous owner for the chalet in annual lump sum payments. He made the first few payments, then he stopped paying. The previous owner sued him for non-payment. He had about $9 million left to pay on the chalet. And now… he’s selling the chalet…?
Prince Andrew is selling the only property he owns, a $23.7 million ski resort chalet in Switzerland, to settle a lawsuit accusing him of not paying $9 million he owed on it, according to a report. The scandal-scarred UK royal bought the seven-bedroom Chalet Helora in 2014 for the equivalent of $22.75 million, using a mortgage and private funding from his mom, Queen Elizabeth II, the Times of London said.
He bought it with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson to be “a long-term family investment,” a friend of Andrew’s told the UK paper. However, former owner Isabelle de Rouvre sued them in Swiss courts last year, accusing them of missing the final payment of $9 million.
The socialite has since dropped her legal action now that Andrew and his ex are close to selling the chalet for $23.7 million and have agreed to use the funds to pay off the debt, the UK Times said.
“Court action has been withdrawn and the matter is close to being resolved to everybody’s mutual satisfaction,” a source close to the proceedings told the paper.
Once sold, it is believed to leave the 61-year-old royal without any property holdings. He and Fergie currently live together on the Queen’s Windsor estate at Royal Lodge, which is owned by Crown Estates Commissioners, which run royal properties, the UK Times noted.
Andrew doesn’t own Royal Lodge but he does have a lease. It seems like Prince William and Prince Charles want to pressure the Queen into cancelling Andrew’s lease because William wants to live there. As for the chalet… months ago, people theorized that the Queen would quietly pay for the rest of the chalet so that her favorite son wouldn’t continue to be sued for mortgage-dodging. I wonder why she didn’t? Maybe she didn’t feel like it, especially since she’s reportedly still paying for Andrew’s legal defense in America.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
The Queen seems to be making some really terrible decision lately. It’s almost as if she doesn’t want Charles and William to get the crown after her
It’s almost as if she knows that Charles is deeply corrupt and William is hopelessly incompetent. Burn it all down GamGam!
It’s almost as if someone of this age isn’t the best fit to make sensible decisions anymore!
+1 @Libby!
That was my first thought.
William even though he’s in his thirties, seems to make bad blunders and pulls very obvious PR stunts. And he’s very out of touch. Future is not looking good.
Maybe QEII did pay off the $9 million and Andrew is selling the chalet to pay back his mother?????
The woman is worth close to half a BILLION pounds in personal wealth, real estate, jewels, and cash. Pedo’s 22M is couch change to her. It could be he’s selling to get cash together to pay a settlement to VG. Although again, Mummy Dearest could be paying it, too, and this sale could be Pedo’s pocket money.
Plus I doubt mummy would be making her favourite son pay her back. But then again, people can do anything when it comes to money. I’d probably make my son pay me back 9 million, favourite or not.
Methinks Prince Andrew may be getting in a position to show limited assets as the VG matter progresses. Wouldn’t be right to have a property available to settle monies owing would it!
Yeah, I think the proceeds from the sale will be hidden somewhere, while Andrew claims they were completely spent to pay debts (which will be obfuscated so we can’t tell where the money actually went). Then he will have a nice nest egg after the Queen dies and Charles cuts him off.
I think she’s notoriously cheap tho. I remember a story of Diana’s first Christmas, getting a bar of soap from QEII, something like that. She thought it was really funny.
This is a good theory! I will also ask, is Betty asking for re-payment, or is Charles?
But how many bathrooms does it have??????
Exactly! We need to know!
He needs to be cut loose, and enjoy a quiet retirement away from the public eye …. He’s acted like an embarrassment and if he assaulted those women he needs to go serve time
he should never “enjoy” a minute of life ever again. I hope the rest of his days are spent living either A) in fear of being incarcerated or B) being incarcerated.
Preferably A+B, @whatWHAT?. Agree that he deserves to rot, and I’m not concerned in the least about his future enjoyment.
He better use whatever profits he gets from the sale to buy a condo because Charles is going to kick him out of the Royal Lodge right after he revokes all of his titles and honors.
Charles cannot revoke the “title” Duke of York. Only parliament can revoke a peerage title.
Charles can revoke the “style” of HRH.
I hope if this happens, William doesn’t get that lodge.
1) He doesn’t need to “enjoy” anything; and
2) He’s acted like a criminal, not an “embarrassment.”
+1
Good, maybe now he’ll use his own money to pay Virginia ? Nah who am I kidding.
My guess is Mummy quietly paid off the $9 million to get Isabelle de Rouvre’s lawsuit dropped. Whether Andrew pays her back is another issue. It’s not like she needs the money. However I imagine Charles, with William’s insistence, will try to force Duke and Duchess Grift out of their lease at Royal Lodge and send them packing to the back of beyond once Mummy shuffles off her mortal coil. By then the Yorks will be total pariahs. Between Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit and Ghislaine Maxwell’s trial in November, shit’s gonna hit the fan for Andrew big time.
William forced his brother out, Charles should not have allowed it. I hope someone else gets Royal Lodge other than william.
Is this the queen’s version of tough love? Cry me a river; Andrew has never been accountable for a moment of his life–but his public life is completely cooked.
Not the Swiss chalet! Oh the humanity! How will he JUST live at Royal Lodge with JUST 900 bathrooms??
Poor sausage!
So, Andrew was buying the ski lodge with owner financing? And if he sells it 9 million of that would go towards the debt left on it?
No way the queen ever cancels out the royal lodge lease. Not without Andrew agreeing.
OH NO!
The Queen is probably paying his legal fees so it seems she’s decided that she can’t pay off his debt as well. I’m sure Andrew was well provided for in Philip’s will.
How was he making the payments on that lodge anyway? The Queen must have been picking up the tab the whole time, right? or Epstein or some other criminal figure?
But if he is selling it for 23 million and owes 9 million to the original seller, he’ll still have about 14 million leftover from the sale, wonder how many other people he owes money to?
Or maybe the queen paid the 9 million with the caveat that he had to sell it.
Who knows. Its Andrew so its sketchy as hell.
Probably was paying with Epstein’s check, laundering the money through the payments. Don’t forget, they payments stopped after Epstein’s death. BIG KEY point.
I hope Virginia cleans their clocks.
That’s what I want to see in 2022.
It sounds like the seller kept the paper and Mummy put up the down payment and first few annual payments. I doubt Andrew put any of his own cash in it at all.
He’s liquidating his assets ahead of the trial. If Virginia wins there will be very little assets to go after. The chalet was purchased by him and Fergie, the gains from the sale will probably be placed under Fergie’s or the daughters name.
This. Hiding the money and limiting his exposure.
I think Virginia ‘s lawyer is prepared for that.
They didn’t go into this suit willy nilly. I really believe they have their ducks in a row.
Sounds like he’s getting rid of his only major asset on record so the funds can disappear before the civil suit loss so that he doesn’t pay and cries poor.
This is a harbinger of things to come. Now that Andrew has been forced to sell his only property it shows that his power is dwindling.
If Andrew sells the Chalet and gives the money to Fergie and his daughters then Giuffre won’t get anything.
Long time lurker here 🙂 There’s an additional reason why he might want to sell the chalet. I’ve read many times that if he leaves the UK, he could be detained or at least questioned. Doesn’t this mean that he would never be able to go to the chalet again? And if he can’t go, why own it? Or own most of it as he hasn’t paid for it all!