It's no secret that Prince Andrew is Queen Elizabeth's favorite child. Royal experts are now questioning how far that favor will get the Duke of York as his legal troubles continue.
Reports indicate that Prince Andrew is considering a settlement with accuser Virginia Giuffre, as it looks like her civil suit could go to trial. This isn't a huge surprise in and of itself. You can understand why the royal family would want to keep these accusations out of court, and if they couldn't, Giuffre would likely be awarded much more than the $3 to $4 million settlement figure being floated by the Daily Mail.
The big question, especially for UK tax payers, is where that money is coming from.
There are a lot of pros and cons for the royal family to weigh when deciding whether or not settling with Virginia Giuffre out of court is the right move for Prince Andrew. One royal source told the Daily Mail that logistically it seems likely, while acknowledging there's a lot more than logistics at play.
"Obviously, this is a US case involving US lawyers and involving a US civil lawsuit. In reality, 99 per cent of US civil litigations are settled out of court," the source noted.
"A settlement would always be an option on the table, as that's where the vast majority end up. There is also the wider pressure and attritional impact to consider."
While settlements are the norm in these situations, they don't normally involve a member of the British royal family. There are social and societal implications of a settlement, insinuating Andrew may have been, to some degree, culpable.
Royal sources are suggesting that should a payout go to Giuffre, it wouldn't be from the Duchy of Lancaster funds. The Queen is reportedly using the funds, in part, for Andrew's defense, per the New York Post. These sources believe, however, that the Queen will not pay to settle the civil suit for her third-born.
The reason for the belief is the nature of the allegations against Andrew. Royal sources feel that the Queen will want to distance herself and the monarchy from anything having to do with sexual abuse or misconduct. To that end, Andrew is reportedly making desperate attempts to sell his Swiss ski chalet to cover mounting legal bills and possible future expenses.
"He is meeting all the costs himself so he needs to raise cash fast to pay bills which are increasing by the day," a source tells the Daily Mail.
"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."
In September 2020, Andrew was reportedly also trying to sell the location, along with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. They were in the midst of settling a legal dispute with its former owner, 74-year-old Isabella de Rouvre. De Rouvre was believed to be dropping the proceedings, in which she accused the Yorks of owing her £6.6 million for missing the final installment for the property on January 1, 2020.
Prince Andrew seems to be running out of options. Certainly, the Queen will not be able to help him navigate this situation forever, and it seems unlikely he'll get much support from big brother Charles when he eventually takes the throne.
