Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson face legal proceedings over £5m unpaid bill

royal family

Credit: Mark Cuthbert.

LEGAL proceedings have begun in Switzerland against Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah, a newspaper reported on Thursday, over money they allegedly still owe on a luxury chalet.

Prince Andrew and Sarah, who remain close despite their 1996 divorce, purchased the plush holiday home in the Verbier ski resort in southwest Switzerland in 2014 for 22 million Swiss francs (€21 million).

The seven-bedroom wooden chalet has an indoor swimming pool and a sauna, Le Temps newspaper reported.

However, the Duke and Duchess of York reportedly failed to meet a December 31, 2019 deadline for paying off most of that sum, Le Temps said.

In the deeds of sale, seen by the French-language daily, six million francs were due to be paid at the end of last year – now eight million francs with interest.

Four months on, the law firm Etude du Ritz has been instructed by the vendor to launch legal proceedings at the local prosecution office, Le Temps reported.

There was no immediate comment from Etude de Ritz when contacted by AFP.

Le Temps quoted a spokeswoman for the Yorks as saying: ‘There is a dispute between the two parties in this matter,’ adding that the contractual details were ‘subject to a confidentiality agreement.’

A Buckingham Palace spokeswoman told AFP: ‘This isn’t something we would comment on.’

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Lizzie Day

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