Royal Family Financed Andrew's £12 Million Settlement, King Charles Absent from Contributions
Palace insiders have disclosed that Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor received £12 million from the Royal Family to settle a civil sexual assault lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre in 2022, with King Charles notably not contributing to the fund. The substantial payment was orchestrated to resolve allegations made by Giuffre, who accused Andrew of sexually abusing her on three occasions in 2001 when she was 17, though these claims were never adjudicated in court due to the settlement.
Financial Breakdown of the Settlement
According to sources, Queen Elizabeth II provided a loan of £7 million to her second son to assist with the settlement, while an additional £3 million was sourced from the estate of the late Prince Philip. The remaining £2 million was reportedly raised through donations from other members of the Royal Family. However, a source close to King Charles has explicitly denied reports that he contributed any funds, contradicting earlier suggestions that he had loaned £1.5 million.
Andrew has not repaid any of the borrowed millions, despite assurances to his family that he would reimburse them from the proceeds of selling his ski chalet in Verbier, Switzerland, which he co-owned with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. Insiders claim the sale yielded minimal returns due to a large mortgage, leaving the debt outstanding. "As far as anyone knows he still has not repaid a single penny of the millions he borrowed," a royal source stated, highlighting the financial strain within the family.
Epstein Files Reveal Further Allegations and Calls for Investigation
The release of the Epstein Files has intensified scrutiny on Andrew, with new claims emerging about his connections to Jeffrey Epstein's sex trafficking network. Documents indicate that Epstein's private jet, dubbed the 'Lolita Express', landed in the UK approximately 90 times, including after his 2008 conviction for child sex offences. Stansted Airport is alleged to have served as a hub for transferring victims between planes, with flight logs showing unnamed passengers labelled as 'female'.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has labelled the situation "by far the biggest scandal of all" and urged Scotland Yard to launch a criminal investigation into Andrew beyond existing probes into misconduct in public office and breach of the Official Secrets Act. Brown emphasised that the Stansted revelations alone necessitate interviewing Andrew, citing concerns that previous investigations did not properly examine vital evidence of flights. "I have been told privately that the investigations related to the former Prince Andrew did not properly check vital evidence of flights," he said.
Buckingham Palace Access and Coded Entries
Sources have alleged that Andrew used coded requests to facilitate the entry of women into Buckingham Palace without proper security clearance. He reportedly instructed aides with phrases such as "Mrs Windsor will arrive shortly, please let her in and show her up," allowing individuals to enter via staff entrances. This practice is said to have occurred frequently over years, with courtiers discussing it but taking no action to challenge it due to Andrew's status.
"Buckingham Palace isn't the fortress you think it is," one source remarked, noting that many visitors had no security clearance and few details were recorded. The Epstein Files also reveal Andrew's links to multiple women, including a Romanian model and a Russian woman named Vera, with whom he dined at the palace. Additionally, emails detail efforts to arrange visas for trafficked girls through English-language courses, raising questions about similar activities in the UK.
Wider Implications and Political Pressure
The fallout from the Epstein Files has prompted calls for accountability from various quarters. Dame Vera Baird, the former victims' commissioner, has urged police to "start properly investigating" Andrew, while the MP leading the Commons Women and Equalities Committee insists he must answer to both police and Parliament. The documents also include references to a woman pictured on the floor under Andrew at Epstein's New York mansion, with a senior US politician claiming she was a sex trafficking victim.
As investigations potentially expand, the Royal Family faces ongoing reputational damage, compounded by Andrew's unpaid debts and the unresolved allegations surrounding his associations with Epstein. The situation underscores broader issues of transparency and accountability within elite circles, with authorities under pressure to address the systemic failures highlighted by the Epstein case.
