Prince Andrew has reached an out-of-court settlement with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, with a sum thought to be in the region of £12 million.
The prince, who denies all accusations against him – and says he doesn't recall ever meeting Giuffre, who had been sex-trafficked by his pal convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein – is reportedly giving £2 million of the rumoured £12 million to her charity as part of their legal agreement.
The payment of the huge stack of cash has raised eyebrows, however, about how the money was pulled together, with reports claiming some of it is being paid for by his mum, Queen Elizabeth.
Shadow Attorney General Emily Thornberry has said the payment will “damage” the Queen’s reputation. Speaking on ITV on Wednesday she said that the saga “has done a lot of damage to the monarchy, without a doubt. I pity the Queen”.
She continued: “She is a very very elderly lady and having to deal with this and the death of her husband this year must be so traumatic.”
Following reports that the Queen may have been involved in providing the bailout cash, although nothing has been confirmed, questions are being asked about the Queen’s own finances.
What is the Queen's net worth?
According to theSunday Times Rich Listfor 2021, Her Majesty is in command of the modest fortune of £365 million.
The paper report that that is a £15 million increase on her ranking in 2020.
It also reports that the Royal Family as an entity pulls in enormous piles of money, estimated in 2017 to be around a truly eye-watering £71 billion.
How do the Queen’s finances work?
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Her Majesty’s money isn’t all kept in the same place, with various income streams funding the day-to-day running of the royals.
As well as her own personal money, she also has the Sovereign Grant and the Privy Purse.
Many of the things she owns are on the behalf of the nation, rather than owning them personally, however.
The grant comes from the taxpayer. It is the cash the government gives to the Queen to support her work.
Meanwhile, the Purse comes from the Duchy of Lancaster – an 18,000-hectare collection of land and assets, theMirrorreports.
Town & Countryreports that pinning down exactly what the Duchy is can be challenging, with its exact form hard to define – is it a business, a fund or a private estate?
It was first set up by Henry IV in 1399 to generate cash for the monarch and, as of March 2021, reported £577.3m of net assets with a profit of £22.3m.
It is managed and run on the Queen’s behalf, meaning it isn’t just for her to do whatever she wants with – although she is understood to receive all the net profits and it is generally thought of as her private income, which she voluntarily pays tax on.
The Mirror reports that she uses this cash to fund things both public and private, including the expenses of family members like Andrew.
The paper reports that one royal expert said if Andrew is to have help from the Queen for his settlement, then it would "more than likely would have come from the Duchy of Lancaster, which is described as the Queen’s private estate".
Buckingham Palace was approached by the Daily Star regarding the Duke's financial affairs, but they declined to comment.
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