Prince Andrew Poised to Secure Funds Needed for Courtroom Battle With Virginia Giuffre – Media

Isabelle de Rouvre sued Prince Andrew in 2020, demanding that he pay her the rest of the money he owed her for the chalet he bought from her, with the royal finally satisfying her demands last year.

British Prince Andrew has finally managed to settle a sizeable longstanding debt related to his purchase of a ski chalet in Switzerland, potentially paving the way for him to procure funds for his ongoing legal battle with Virginia Giuffre, MailOnline reports.

According to the newspaper, the Duke of York and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson bought the chalet at the ski resort of Verbier for £18 million from their then-friend French socialite Isabelle de Rouvre.

While Andrew and Sarah reportedly agreed to pay de Rouvre in instalments, the latter insisted that the final instalment of some £5 million was not transferred to her.

The socialite initially agreed to wait, with interest on the sum accruing, and in 2020 she proceeded to sue the Duke and Duchess of York for £6.6 million (including the interest), with Andrew finally paying her late last year.

“The war is over. He has paid the money,” de Rouvre said as her litigation with the royal finally concluded.

While it apparently wasn’t clear exactly how Prince Andrew procured the money to pay de Rouvre, the royal can now sell the property and use the funds to pay his lawyers in the US who are “battling” the sexual abuse claims brought against him by Virginia Giuffre (nee Roberts).

Having alleged that she was forced by the late financier Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell to have sex with Prince Andrew in 2001, Virginia Giuffre has filed a civil lawsuit in New York against the royal, seeking unspecified damages from him.

Prince Andrew himself, however, denies these allegations.

Meanwhile, one of Epstein’s victims, Carolyn Andriano, said that she believes that Prince Andrew had a sexual relationship with the underage Giuffre, but claimed that the latter did not feel bad about it and “thought it was pretty cool.”