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Years ago, the Queen’s son bought a property in the exclusive Valais ski resort. However, he failed to pay the last installment of the equivalent of eight million francs – until now.
The Queen’s second eldest son is said to have paid his eight million francs debt to the previous owner, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Mark Large / Daily Mail / SOLO Syndication / DUKAS / SOLO
This photo was taken in 1996 – on one of the York family’s many ski holidays in the Valais village.
DUKAS / ACTIONPRESS
Prince Andrew has paid the equivalent of eight million francs on his debts.
The Queen’s son is now in full possession of the Swiss chalet in the luxury ski resort of Verbier, where his daughters, Princess Eugenie (31) and Princess Beatrice (33), recently went on vacation.
But it won’t be in royal hands for a long time: According to the Daily Mail, Andrew wants to sell it as soon as possible in order to be able to pay his team to US lawyers.
After countless holidays in the luxury ski resort of Verbier in Valais, Prince Andrew and his now ex-wife Sarah Ferguson (62) decided in 2014 to buy a property with seven bedrooms and a 60 square meter indoor pool. At that time, the Chalet Helora was paid for from Andrew’s private fortune and not with the money of the royal family. However, the purchase was not entirely without problems: the former owner and then close friend of the royal, Isabelle de Rouvre, accused the Duke of York for years of failing to pay the final installment of the purchase price. But this has finally happened.
According to the “Daily Mail”, the 61-year-old had paid his debts at the end of last year in the amount of the equivalent of eight million francs. “The war is over. He paid the money, ”de Rouvre told the British newspaper. “I sold it to the Yorks and we came to an agreement. Fortunately, that’s the end of the story. Now I have nothing more to do with it. ” With the settlement of his debts, Andrew could finally sell the Chalet Helora for the equivalent of around 22 million francs. With the money he wants to pay his team of US lawyers he has hired for the Virginia Roberts court case, which accuses him of sexual abuse.
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No help from Queen Elizabeth
The Swiss chalet has made headlines for years. According to the sales deed that “Le Temps” had, the remaining amount of six million francs should actually have been paid by December 31, 2019. At the time, it was said that no payment had been received by the deadline. Even four months later, the 74-year-old saleswoman had not seen any money. With interest, the amount increased to eight million francs.
For the purchase of the chalet, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson are said to have taken out a mortgage and taken a private injection of funds from Queen Elizabeth (95) in order to be able to cope with the “long-term family investment”. But Andrew had to do without further help from his mother. “The Queen will not intervene to pay the debts of the Swiss chalet,” said a palace spokesman according to the British media.
“It was extremely stressful”
The 61-year-old always asserted that he had paid the purchase price in full, but Rouvre held against it. Conclusion: She went to court in May 2020. According to The Times, she withdrew her lawsuit shortly thereafter. Now the problem seems to have been solved anyway, but the sale did not leave her without a trace.
«It was extremely stressful for Isabelle. She sold the chalet in good faith. She thought they were friends. But it all went wrong. It was annoying and stressful. She shouldn’t have been drawn into all of this. It’s a relief for them that the Yorks have now paid, ”a friend of Rouvre told the Daily Mail.
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