As I write this, several British tabloids are still obsessed with auditing every single little thing regarding the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. The British papers are just obsessed with the idea that Harry and Meghan might be spending THEIR OWN MONEY on much-needed security to protect themselves from all of the unhinged people agitated by the British media’s ginned-up fake scandals. I bring up the press’s obsession with the Sussex finances because I would love for those same media outlets to bring a similar energy to the Duke of York and his *extremely* shady financial situation. Years ago, Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson purchased a Swiss chalet on some kind of payment plan, where every few years they would make a multi-million lump payment. They missed the 2019 payment of £6.7 million because, mysteriously, Andrew’s finances took a hit after Jeffrey Epstein’s death (coughcough). So the original owner of the Swiss chalet is currently suing Andrew and Fergie. But the Queen might pay to make it all go away for her favorite son:
The Queen is to pay off Prince Andrew’s £6.7million ski chalet debt to save her son further embarrassment, it is claimed. Her Majesty will step in to end the Duke and Duchess of York’s feud with a French socialite over the luxury home in Swiss resort Verbier. Isabelle de Rouvre sold the Yorks the huge seven-bedroom lodge for £18million in 2014 but she is now pursuing them through the courts, alleging they still owe her £6.7million.
An insider told US jet set mag Air Mail that the Queen will pay the debt herself — to avoid another scandal engulfing her son following the Jeffrey Epstein affair. The source said: “Otherwise it’s going to court and things will get really bad.”
Madame de Rouvre, 74, had become a friend of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson, both 60, when they repeatedly rented the chalet. It is said to boast a 60sq metre indoor pool, a sauna, bar and entertaining area. Madame de Rouvre employed six full-time staff and let it for more than £22,000-a-week. After selling it to the Yorks, who remained pals after their 1996 divorce, she claims they missed a December 31 deadline to pay the outstanding amount. Speaking this month, she said the case was “really difficult”, while a source added it had “severely tarnished” her friendship with Andrew and Fergie.
Air Mail also claims Andrew had gone to his US billionaire paedo pal Epstein’s New York home in 2010 to beg him to help his ex-wife out of debt. The mag says Fergie had owed a £3.2million bank overdraft. A source said: “He went with his begging bowl to scrounge for her. Everyone in the Royal Family knows this is why he was there.”
[From The Sun]
The fact that this is happening at the very same time that the Windsors and the British media are nickel-and-diming Harry and Meghan to “repay” the costs of Frogmore Cottage’s renovation… well, it’s not a good look. And it’s weird that the Queen magically has £6.7million to blow on her fave’s Swiss chalet, right? It’s totally strange that the Queen can find that kind of money to rescue Andrew from embarrassment. This is what has set my teeth on edge for the past year and a half: the very direct comparison between how the Windsors have treated Andrew versus the Sussexes’ treatment within the same damn time frame. It’s startling and shocking to see how tone-deaf they are.
Update: after I wrote this up, Andrew’s spokesperson (how does he still have a spokesperson??) told the Evening Standard: “The Queen will not be stepping in to settle the debt owed on the Swiss chalet. The chalet is currently on the market and it is expected that its sale will enable all outstanding debts to be met.” Wait, what? He still owes about $8 million on the chalet, so he doesn’t really OWN it, and he’s selling it and that will settle the debt? Hm.
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