Explosive new details are shedding light on how millions of pounds were quietly funneled to settle Prince Andrew’s legal battle with Virginia Giuffre — and insiders say the fallout inside the Royal Family was deeper than many realized.
According to reports, the late Queen Elizabeth II personally contributed £7 million toward the 2022 out-of-court settlement with Giuffre. Another £3 million allegedly came from the estate of Prince Philip, who had died the year before. At the time, the monarchy was racing to contain the scandal ahead of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations.
Then-Prince Charles is also said to have contributed roughly £1.5 million, with additional funds reportedly coming from other royal sources. One insider bluntly claimed Andrew “has not repaid a single penny.”
The total settlement has been widely reported at around £12 million. Andrew has consistently denied Giuffre’s allegations that she was trafficked by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and forced to have sex with the Duke of York on three occasions, including once when she was 17. The settlement included no admission of liability.
No one, not a single person, I mean nobody pays 12 million fucking pounds when they have an opportunity to prove beyond any doubt that they are innocent. Not a single person.
It seems the royal family knew, paid &protected Andrew at all cost.
But they think y’all are dumb as f. pic.twitter.com/4Xi3OQHO6K— Claire (@claireXanda) February 3, 2026
Supporters of Giuffre long pointed to a now-infamous photograph showing Andrew with his arm around her at the London home of Ghislaine Maxwell, who is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for sex trafficking offenses tied to Epstein. Andrew has maintained he has “no recollection” of ever meeting Giuffre.
Behind palace walls, however, sources suggest tensions were running high. One insider alleged Andrew had not been fully transparent with his family about the extent of his relationship with Epstein. The late Queen, described as heartbroken by the scandal, reportedly could not bring herself to fully cut off her son.
“She knew this was a problem that his brother Charles would tackle once she was gone,” a source claimed, suggesting the settlement merely delayed a reckoning rather than resolving it.
The financial strategy to reimburse the family also reportedly collapsed. Andrew had planned to sell his £19 million Swiss ski chalet in Verbier, with expectations that proceeds would cover the money used for the settlement. But heavy mortgage debt on the property allegedly left him with little to nothing after the sale attempt. As of the latest reports, the borrowed funds remain unpaid.
▫ Credit Cad
▫Shamed Andrew was loaned £12m by Queen, Philip & Charles to pay off Virginia Giuffre – & hasn’t ‘paid a PENNY back’
▫@stephenmoyes @MattSunRoyal
▫https://t.co/VmuExQUhJW@TheSun #frontpagestoday #UK 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/osx86YwKY8— 𝙵𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝙿𝚊𝚐𝚎𝚜 𝚃𝚘𝚍𝚊𝚢 📰 (@ukpapers) February 12, 2026
The settlement, finalized in March 2022, ensured Andrew would not face Giuffre in a U.S. courtroom — a scenario royal aides reportedly feared after his widely criticized 2019 BBC Newsnight interview. During that appearance, Andrew denied the allegations and claimed he was at a Pizza Express in Woking on the night Giuffre said they were together.
Giuffre later published a memoir detailing her abuse allegations. She died last April at age 41.
Meanwhile, fresh scrutiny erupted after emails reportedly surfaced showing Andrew remained in contact with Epstein beyond the timeline he had previously acknowledged. The revelations intensified pressure on King Charles, who has since taken steps to distance the monarchy from his brother, including removing royal duties and titles and reportedly reevaluating Andrew’s residence at Royal Lodge.
The controversy has also rippled across the Atlantic. During a recent House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington, Attorney General Pam Bondi faced sharp criticism from Democrats over the release of Epstein-related files. Some lawmakers accused the Justice Department of shielding perpetrators by redacting names. Bondi defended the release, stating that more than three million pages and 180,000 images had been made public while protecting victims.
As the Epstein saga continues to unfold, the Prince Andrew chapter remains one of the most damaging scandals in modern royal history — a case involving alleged misconduct, family loyalty, massive financial payouts, and a monarchy struggling to protect its legacy under global scrutiny.
