Chip in, Ma! Queen Could Be Asked to Fund Prince Andrew's Settlement With Accuser, Media Says

Reports say the Queen has already been paying for the legal fees of her 61-year-old son, who has been accused by an American woman, Virginia Giuffre, of sexual assault. The royal has consistently denied the accusations.

Queen Elizabeth II could be asked to fund Prince Andrew's potential settlement with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, The Telegraph has reported, citing its sources. According to the newspaper, the Duke of York's legal team has not dismissed the option of reaching an out of court settlement with the 38-year-old as recent revelations suggest that the case is likely go to trial.

The payoff could exceed £5 million ($6.7 million), a sum too high for Prince Andrew's pockets, hence the Queen could be asked to contribute, The Telegraph writes.

Sources told the newspaper that any settlement would include a "no admission of fault or liability" clause as well as a non-disclosure agreement, preventing both sides from discussing the issue in public.

Chip in Yourself, Son

The Telegraph's story comes a day after The Mirror reported that Prince Andrew is now trying to force through the sale of a £16.6 million house he and his ex-wife bought in Switzerland, because the Queen refused to pay for his settlement or for damages if the Duke of York loses the case.

The Duke of York and his ex-spouse Sarah Ferguson bought the chalet in 2014 as a "family investment" with a mortgage and funding from the Queen. The couple, however, put it up for sale last year after they missed a deadline for a payment to its former owner, French socialite Isabelle de Rouvre.

According to The Mirror, if the sale goes through, the profits will be used to repay the debt and the remainder of the sum will be used to fund Prince Andrew's legal fees, as well as to pay Virginia Giuffre if the sides decide to reach a settlement.

"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. 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", a source told The Mirror.

The woman and her legal team have insisted they have no interest in reaching a settlement with the royal and want to see the case go to trial for the sake of justice. Mrs Giuffre, 38, has said that she wants to send a message that any person involved in sexual abuse should face the full force of the law.

The talk about a settlement gained momentum in light of the guilty verdict handed down to Ghislaine Maxwell, a British socialite who groomed young women and girls for Jeffrey Epstein. The financier was charged with running a sex trafficking network of minors in 2019, but didn't live to see his trial – he was found hanged in his prison cell.

Maxwell is said to have introduced Prince Andrew to Epstein. Virginia Giuffre claims that in 2001, when she was a 17 (considered a minor in most US states), Epstein and Maxwell trafficked her to London where she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew.

The Duke of York has categorically denied the accusations and said he had an alibi for the day in question. His remark was contested by two individuals – a woman claims to have seen him dancing with the young Giuffre at a London nightclub, while a former Epstein employee allegedly saw the two together on the financier's private island, Little Saint James.

On Friday, the royal was dealt another blow. One of the witnesses in the Ghislaine Maxwell trial said Giuffre told her about the intimate relationship with Prince Andrew and showed a photograph depicting the two together.

Reports say that Judge Lewis Kaplan is expected to announce this week whether the lawsuit against Prince Andrew can be dismissed. If not, then the trial is expected to begin in late 2022.