Prince Andrew 'to sell £17m Swiss chalet to cover cost of sex abuse case'

Contrary to previous reports, the Queen will not be bailing him out

Prince Andrew is reportedly set to sell his £17 million chalet in Switzerland in an effort to cover the costs of the ongoing sexual assault case levelled at him. As per a Mirror exclusive, the Duke of York's Swiss chalet is being put on the market in an attempt to cover the spiralling legal costs being racked up as he and his team continue to try and quash Virginia Giuffre's lawsuit. Up until now it has been reported that the Queen would be paying for his defence team, with lawyer Andrew Brettler rumoured to be charging £1,500 an hour. https://twitter.com/NewshubENT/status/1479301527026032643?s=20 In addition to the legal costs themselves, should Andrew lose the case, Giuffre could also receive an additional settlement worth upwards of £3 million in lifelong damages following the alleged abuse. Giuffre (formerly known as Roberts) claims Andrew sexually abused her back in 2001 when she was just 17 and despite being thought to have reached an adjacent settlement with now-deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein in 2009, she continues to push for further action in court. Prince Andrew denies all allegations. https://twitter.com/molcranenewman/status/1166431209427263488?s=20 A source is quoted as saying that “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 property itself, 'Chalet Helora', is located in the ski resort of Verbier and was purchased by Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson back in 2014. It is thought that the pair agreed to sell the Swiss chalet last September when allegations started resurfacing once again. [caption id="attachment_310110" align="alignnone" width="1024"]

Credit: Getty - Prince Andrew and his family had holidayed Switzerland for many years[/caption] They went on to say that while there is still "potential to settle [...] it is in no doubt that the Queen would not assist him in doing so.” The existing settlement is also being used as part of the defence and prior to that, Prince Andrew's legal team said the whole thing should be thrown out as the case is being tried in New York but Giuffre lives in Australia.