Prince Andrew is selling the only property he owns, a $23.7 million ski-resort chalet in Switzerland, to settle a lawsuit accusing him of not paying $9 million he owed on it, according to a report.
The scandal-scarred UK royal bought the seven-bedroom Chalet Helora in 2014 for the equivalent of $22.75 million, using a mortgage and private funding from this mom, Queen Elizabeth II, The Times of London said.
He bought it with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson to be “a long-term family investment,” a friend of Andrew’s told the UK paper.
However, former owner Isabelle de Rouvre sued them in Swiss courts last year, accusing them of missing the final payment of $9 million.
The socialite has since dropped her legal action now that Andrew and his ex are close to selling the chalet for $23.7 million and have agreed to use the funds to pay off the debt, the UK Times said.
“Court action has been withdrawn and the matter is close to being resolved to everybody’s mutual satisfaction,” a source close to the proceedings told the paper.
According to a friend of Prince Andrew, the chalet was meant to be a “long-term family investment” when the royal bought it with his ex-wife.FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP via Getty ImagesOnce sold, it is believed to leave the 61-year-old royal without any property holdings.
He and Fergie currently live together on the Queen’s Windsor estate at Royal Lodge, which is owned by Crown Estates Commissioners, which run royal properties, the UK Times noted.
Andrew still faces a far more damning lawsuit — one filed last month in New York by longtime sex accuser Virginia Roberts Guiffre.
Prince Andrew is currently facing a lawsuit filed by Virginia Roberts in New York City which alleges that Andrew forced her to have sex with him three times while she was a minor. Virginia RobertsGiuffre has accused him of sexual assault amounting to first-degree rape, saying she was made to have sex with the royal three times on the orders of late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and accused madam Ghislaine Maxwell.
Andrew has previously denied the long-standing allegations, which have led to him being booted from royal duties.
The lawsuit — which Andrew is fighting — could drag on for years and cost millions of dollars, experts have previously warned.
Sarah Ferguson (left) and Prince Andrew (right) currently live on the Queen’s Windsor Estate, Crown Estates Commissioners. Samir Hussein/WireImageThe Duke and Duchess of York had become friends with de Rouvre after renting the chalet — which has a sauna and indoor swimming pool — for vacations with daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, the report said.
Prince Harry is also thought to have stayed there with his ex, Cressida Bonas.
