British Queen Elizabeth II is privately paying her second son Andrew's legal battle against sex abuse charges to the tune of millions of pounds, The Telegraph reported on Friday.
As the outlet states, Her Majesty's annual income from her own Duchy of Lancaster estate, which has lately climbed by 1.5 million pounds (over $2 million) to more than 23 million pounds ($31.1 million), is being used to pay for the expenses.
The whole legal cost is reportedly expected to be in the millions, with the civil lawsuit expected to stretch on for months or possibly years. A prospective settlement, or damages award, might cost millions more on top of that.
Brettler is said to be costing the Duke around $2,000 per hour, while Lerner's appointment, subordinate staff, and Andrew's UK-based legal team, led by criminal defense solicitor Gary Bloxsome, have already pushed up his fees.
The Duke Has No Apparent Source of Income
The Queen's financial assistance was deemed necessary, according to the newspaper. The Duke's personal finances are unknown, but experts claim that despite his lavish lifestyle, he has no discernible source of income.
The former owner of his Swiss ski chalet, which he and his ex-wife, the Duchess of York, purchased for roughly 17 million pounds ($23 million) in 2014, sued them last year, claiming that they owed her 6.7 million pounds ($9 million). And according to the report, the chalet, which was purchased with a mortgage and private funds from the Queen, is about to be sold to pay off the debt. When the sale is completed, the Duke will no longer own any property.
Andrew occupies Royal Lodge, which is part of the Queen's Windsor estate and is owned by the Crown Estate.
Britain's Prince Andrew, Duke of York, attends Sunday service at the Royal Chapel of All Saints, at Royal Lodge, in Windsor on April 11, 2021, two days after the death of his father Britain's Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
© AFP 2023 / STEVE PARSONS
More interesting, the Duchess' financial woes drew attention back to the Duke's relationship with the late financier and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein a decade ago, when she was forced to apologize after the media reported she had accepted 15,000 pounds ($20,000) from him to assist in paying off her debts.
Virginia Roberts Giuffre, the prince's accuser, has not set a dollar sum for the compensation she is seeking for "significant emotional and psychological distress and harm," according to the report, but she is demanding compensatory and punitive damages, both of which are expected to be considerable.
She has accused the Duke of sexually assaulting her three times when she was 17 years old, which the 61-year-old royal has consistently denied.
Andrew now has until October 29 to respond to the complaint, with the next hearing on November 3.