Prince Andrew ‘is trying to force through sale of his £17m Swiss chalet as Queen refuses to foot legal bills from Virginia Giuffre sex abuse case’, sources say

• The Duke of York is attempting to speed up the sale of the luxurious property
• The Queen will reportedly not be paying for legal bills in Virginia Giuffre case
• Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson bought the Verbier chalet in 2014 

Prince Andrew is reportedly trying to force through the sale of his £17million Swiss ski chalet to help foot the bill for his spiralling legal costs as he fights sexual abuse allegations made by Virginia Roberts. 

According to The Mirror, the Duke of York is attempting to speed up the sale of the luxurious property because his mother the Queen will not pay his lawyers’ fees. 

Andrew bought the seven-bedroom Chalet Helora, in the luxury Swiss resort of Verbier with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson in 2014 for £16.6million. 

It emerged last year that Andrew was selling the property.

The Duke is also needing to find the funds to pay his team of US and UK-based lawyers as they battle the claims made by Ms Roberts.  

Ms Roberts, who now uses her married name of Giuffre, claims that the prince had sex with her three times after she was trafficked by paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew has consistently denied the allegations.

Prince Andrew is reportedly trying to force through the sale of his £17million Swiss ski chalet to help foot the bill for his spiralling legal costs as fights sexual abuse allegations made by Virginia Roberts

Andrew bought the seven-bedroom Chalet Helora, in the luxury Swiss resort of Verbier with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson in 2014 for £16.6million

US judge Lewis Kaplan could reveal on Friday whether or not Andrew will face a full civil trial in New York after his lawyers argued this week that Miss Roberts’ case should not go to trial because of a 2009 civil settlement she made with Epstein.

If the case does go to trial and Andrew loses, Ms Roberts could be awarded a settlement which legal experts have predicted could be as much as £3million. 

It emerged this week that  Prince Andrew could settle out of court with Ms Roberts to avoid the case going to trial. 

Speaking of the alleged speeding up of the sale of his chalet, a source told The Mirror: ‘It is crunch time for Andrew on several fronts.

‘He is meeting all the costs himself so he needs to raise cash fast to pay bills which are increasing by the day.

The Duke of York is attempting to speed up the sale of the luxurious property because his mother the Queen will not pay his lawyers’ fees. Ms Roberts, who is suing Andrew under her married name of Giuffre, claims that the prince had sex with her three times after she was trafficked by paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Above: The Duke of York was photographed with his arm around the bare waist of then 17-year-old Virginia Roberts. Ghislaine Maxwell is in the background

‘If there was the potential to settle, well, that is an option, but it is in no doubt that the Queen would not assist him in doing so.’

The newspaper also claimed that the Queen will not help Andrew pay for any future financial settlement which may be paid to Ms Roberts.

MailOnline has approached Buckingham Palace for comment.  

In September last year, it was reported that Andrew and the Duchess of York were close to selling the chalet to settle a legal dispute with its former owner, Isabella de Rouvre, 74.

She claimed they still owed her £6.6million after allegedly missing the final instalment for the property on January 1, 2020.  

She took the case over the property, which has an indoor swimming pool and costs up to £22,000 a week to rent, to the Swiss courts.

In September last year, it was reported that Andrew and the Duchess of York were close to selling the chalet to settle a legal dispute with its former owner, Isabella de Rouvre, 74 

However, Ms de Rouvre agreed to drop the legal proceedings when it emerged the property was close to selling for the asking price of £17.3million. 

The Yorks are set to repay the debt once the sale of the home goes through.    

The Yorks became friends with Miss de Rouvre after regularly renting the chalet for holidays with their children, Beatrice and Eugenie.

Prince Andrew and his ex-wife bought it with a mortgage and private funding from the Queen as a ‘long-term family investment’, sources claimed.

When the sale is complete, the duke will no longer own any property, it is believed. 

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