Prince Andrew is close to selling his £17 million chalet in the exclusive ski resort of Verbier in Switzerland.
A sale would mean that the Duke of York can settle the lawsuit brought against him by the former owner of the chalet, who sued Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah last year over £6.6 million she claimed the pair still owed her.
The Duke and Duchess of York are understood to have reached a legal agreement with Isabelle de Rouvre over the chalet. Equipped with an indoor swimming pool and sauna, it reportedly costs up to £22,000 a week to rent.
The Yorks bought the seven-bedroom Chalet Helora from de Rouvre in 2014 for £16.6 million, but the socialite and former wife of a French politician claimed that they missed the January 1 deadline to pay the final instalment and took action in the Swiss courts last year.
It is understood that de Rouvre, 68, has recently dropped her case against the couple, as the chalet is in the final stages of being sold for close to its asking price of £17.3 million. The Yorks intend to repay their debt to her once the sale has gone through.
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A source with knowledge of the proceedings said: “Court action has been withdrawn and the matter is close to being resolved to everybody’s mutual satisfaction.”
The Yorks became friends with de Rouvre after regularly renting the chalet for holidays with their children, Beatrice and Eugenie.
Prince Harry is thought to have stayed there with Cressida Bonas, his girlfriend at the time. George Osborne, the former chancellor, and Sir Richard Branson also own multimillion-pound chalets nearby in the exclusive Swiss resort, which boasts some of the best on and off-piste skiing in Europe.
It is understood that the Yorks bought the chalet with a mortgage and private funding from the Queen. A friend of the couple said it had been intended as “a long-term family investment”.
It is thought that when the sale of the chalet is complete, Andrew, 61, will no longer own any property. He and the duchess, also 61, live together on the Queen’s Windsor estate at Royal Lodge, which is owned by the Crown estate. Andrew leased the property for 75 years in 2003 after agreeing to carry out £7.5 million of refurbishments.
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The settlement of one case against the duke comes as sources close to Andrew, who remains on holiday with the Queen at Balmoral, have signalled that he will strongly contest the claims made in the US by Virginia Giuffre, 38. She alleges that she was forced to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17 in the Manhattan mansion owned by Jeffrey Epstein, as well as other locations.
Giuffre filed her civil case in August — but the duke did not publicly respond to the allegations and refused to accept service of the court papers for more than a month, until his new US legal team finally acknowledged service on September 21. He has until October 29 to respond.
Andrew’s strategy to date has been heavily criticised by Giuffre’s lawyers and some in royal circles, who fear the wall of silence from the duke continues to damage the monarchy. But those close to him said his hiring of Andrew Brettler, the Hollywood lawyer who has represented several celebrities accused of sexual assault and harassment, indicated a major change of tactics.
A source close to the duke said: “The decision to bring in Andrew Brettler to fight the civil case marks a significant turning point in approach, and the US team will be looking to robustly engage and challenge the claims from Mrs Giuffre in an attempt to provide the duke with a platform to finally clear his name. They will be looking to examine and dismantle the claims one by one.
“By launching this civil case, Mrs Giuffre has actively invited legal scrutiny of her own version of events. This provides an opportunity for the duke’s team to scrutinise properly the multiple inconsistencies in her narrative that have emerged over the years, and you can expect to see a rigorous defence of all her allegations.”
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Sources close to Andrew said he was expected to remain at Balmoral for the time being, despite the arrival of his first granddaughter earlier this month. Princess Beatrice gave birth to her first child on September 18.
The Duchess of York, who accompanied Andrew to Balmoral, returned from Scotland to London last week to meet her new grandchild.
