A reliable source close to King Charles III reported that he did not contribute in any way to financing the amount of the legal settlement that his brother, Prince Andrew, paid to one of Jeffrey Epstein’s victims, whose estimated value was approximately $16 million.
The source explained to the British newspaper “The Times” that the king did not provide any financial aid to Prince Andrew, whether the amount specified at 1.5 million pounds sterling that was mentioned in some news, or any other amount at all, stressing the palace’s keenness to show a clear separation between the king and the controversy surrounding financing the settlement that was concluded in 2022 with the American prosecutor Virginia Giuffre.
According to various press reports, the sources of funding for this settlement came from three main parties: a personal loan from the late Queen Elizabeth II worth 7 million pounds, a contribution from the estate of Prince Philip worth 3 million pounds, in addition to covering the remaining amount of 1.5 million pounds from other royal sources.
The sources revealed that Prince Andrew has not yet paid any part of these amounts, and he was planning to pay them from the expected profits from the sale of his ski resort in Verbier, Switzerland, but the large mortgage on the property prevented him from achieving significant gains from the sale.
In a related context, legal and political pressures are increasing on Prince Andrew, as former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown called on the police to conduct an official investigation into him, noting that the documents recently published regarding the Epstein network include information that requires the opening of a comprehensive criminal investigation.
Thames Valley Police are also in discussions with the Crown Prosecution Service to consider possible charges of misconduct during his time as a UK trade envoy.
For its part, Buckingham Palace confirmed its full readiness to support any official investigation conducted by the police if requested to do so, while King Charles expressed his concern about the accusations against his brother, while emphasizing maintaining a clear institutional distance between the royal family and Prince Andrew’s legal issues.
