According to the British tabloid The Mirror, the Duke of York — aka Prince Andrew — must sell a $24 million Swiss chalet in order to help pay for his mounting legal bills in his case against former Jeffery Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre.
Queen Elizabeth is reportedly refusing to cover the substantial legal and potentially settlement fees of her 61-year-old son, who is engaged in a legal battle and facing a possible civil trial over Giuffre’s allegations that the prince had “disgusting” sex with her at least three times in 2001 while Giuffre was still a minor and being trafficked by serial pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew has consistently denied the allegations, although photos exist of Giuffre and Andrew together.
A decision as to whether Giuffre’s case would go to trial was expected as early as Friday but, as of this writing, New York Judge Lewis Kaplan has not yet announced whether the case would go forward. Earlier this week, Andrew’s lawyers argued that the case should not go to trial because of a 2009 agreement that Giuffre signed with Epstein that paid Giuffre $500,000 for an out-of-court settlement. As part of that agreement, Giuffre reportedly promised not to bring charges against other potential defendants.
The term “potential defendant,” the prince’s attorney Andrew Brettler argued, would include Andrew, therefore insulating the Royal from civil action.
“That phrase has to be given meaning,” Brettler, said in court on Tuesday. “Prince Andrew could have been sued in the 2009 Florida action. He was not and therefore was a potential defendant.”
Giuffre’s attorney David Boies argued that there was no way that the prince could be deemed a “potential defendant”, since Prince Andrew was not subject to the Florida court that decided the matter and, further, was not a person accused of trafficking Giuffre.
Lisa Bloom, an attorney who advised Hollywood sex-criminal Harvey Weinstein and represented the accusers of former Fox News personality Bill O’Reilly in that sexual harassment case, doesn’t think the strategy of linking Prince Andrew’s case to the 13-year-old Epstien case has much of chance.
“I listened to oral arguments in Virginia Giuffre v. Prince Andrew this morning. Andrew wants her case thrown out on technical grounds. Judge Kaplan aggressively questioned defense on this and appeared unwilling to do it. I’m optimistic that Virginia will get her day in court,” Bloom said.
Bloom added: “Most shocking to me is that Prince Andrew’s attorney wanted the judge to say NY’s law giving child sexual abuse victims more time to sue is unconstitutional. This would have blocked access to justice for so many victims. Does the Queen know what her son is attempting to do?”
Maybe she does and that’s why she’s not funding Andrew’s case.
Should the Duke of York lose in court, legal experts believe that Giuffre could be awarded as much as $5 million.
Reportedly, Giuffre’s attorneys floated the possibility of an out-of-court settlement for that same amount of money, which Andrew and his attorneys refused. Now, that out-of-court settlement is off the table as Giuffre apparently no longer believes that an out-court-settlement – no matter how big – will send the message she wishes to send to powerful elites who sexually abuse young women.
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 source claimed. “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.”
Andrew’s brother Prince Charles and his nephew Prince William were reportedly enraged at suggestions that the Queen might be asked to foot the legal bill.
The suddenly cash-strapped Andrew currently co-owns the Chalet Helora in the ski resort of Verbier in southwest Switzerland with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. Apparently a deal to sell the resort to a wealthy European has been agreed to but now Andrew is urgently attempting to push the deal through as soon as possible.
Should the Giuffre case against the prince go to trial, it has the potential to cause the Royal Family a great deal of embarrassment as the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee — a celebration of the Queen’s 70th anniversary of her ascension to the throne — is set for February of this year.
