Prince Andrew will not celebrate the New Year with his family at their £13 million ski chalet, an insider has claimed.
The Duke of York, who purchased the £22,000-a-week property in the exclusive Swiss village Verbier in 2014, is expected to stay in the country over the festive period while his daughters fly off to the Alps for their annual winter break.
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will join their mother Sarah, Duchess of York for a skiing holiday after spending the Christmas period with the Royal Family in Sandringham.
Their father, who stepped back from royal duties after being ‘sacked’ by the Prince of Wales, 71, and the Queen, 91, in November over the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, will instead be ‘lying low’ at home.
Prince Andrew (pictured with Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice and Sarah Ferguson) will not celebrate the New Year with his family at their £13 million ski chalet, an insider has claimed
‘The Duchess of York will be spending Christmas in Switzerland’, a friend of the Duchess told Richard Eden.
‘Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie will be joining her after they’ve spent the festive period with the Royal Family at Sandringham.
‘Prince Andrew will not be joining them this year. He will be lying low back home.’
The Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson, who divorced in 1996, purchased the seven-bedroom chalet in the Alps as a ‘family investment’ in 2014.
It was said Andrew had been tucked away at the opulent property with his closest friends when news of the Epstein sex scandal broke in 2015.
The Duke of York purchased the £22,000-a-week property in the exclusive Swiss village Verbier with his ex-wife in 2014
Andrew (pictured with his daughters and the Duchess of York) had been tucked away with his closest friends at the opulent resort when news of the Epstein sex scandal broke in 2015
The Queen’s son had been with his ex-wife and their younger daughter Eugenie when claims the prince had sex with an under-age girl were made in documents lodged at a US court.
Virginia Roberts alleges that under pressure from Epstein and his alleged madam Ghislaine Maxwell she slept with the Prince on three occasions, including once as a 17-year-old. The Prince denies the accusations.
In a recent BBC Newsnight interview, Andrew said had ‘no recollection’ of meeting Roberts and produced a number of alibis, including being in a Pizza Express in Woking at the time.
During the bombshell interview, the Duke attempted to ‘set the record straight’ by speaking about the sex allegations against him, but was widely condemned for showing a lack of remorse over his friendship with a convicted paedophile.
The Duchess of York (left) relocated to the property in the exclusive Swiss resort when she moved out of her ex-husband’s (right) official residence
Andrew and his family typically visit the exclusive Swiss resort several times a year, including for a winter break in the New Year
Interviewer Emily Maitliss told the Guardian on Thursday she knew the interview was heading for a car crash after he made it clear he wasn’t going to ‘repent’ over his friendship with Epstein.
The prince was ‘sacked’ from royal duties in the aftermath of the conversation.
Andrew and his family typically visit the exclusive Swiss resort several times a year, including for a winter break in the New Year and for his birthday in February.
Virginia Roberts (pictured with Andrew) alleges she slept with the Prince on three occasions
The Duchess, 60, relocated to the property in the exclusive Swiss resort when she moved out of her ex-husband’s official residence, Royal Lodge at Windsor.
The impressive property, in Switzerland’s Valais Canton, features seven bedrooms, its own heated indoor swimming pool with an opulent entertaining area and a sauna.
The master bedroom has its own en-suite bathroom and is draped in fur throws. It also boasts a sumptuous living room, littered with antiques and artworks, in which a roaring fire is lit each afternoon to welcome guests home from a hard afternoon on the slopes.
In 2013, Andrew rented out the chalet for his annual family ski holiday to celebrate his 53rd birthday. The Duke of York, 59, was understood to have paid for the hire of the chalet out of his own private purse.
At the time, the chalet was owned by Pamuca, a company based in Vaduz, Liechtenstein.
The purchase of the property took several months to conclude, sources claim, as deals involving foreign buyers are more complicated. The sale was completed on November 11, 2014 but was not legally approved by the Swiss government until December 19.
Prince Andrew in Verbier on his 38th birthday with Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York and his two daughters Princess Eugenie and Beatrice
Photographs from 1998 picture the Duke of York as he celebrates his 38th birthday the resort, with his two daughters, then 10 and eight, and the Duchess
‘They have bought the chalet as a family investment. Neither of them have their own property and wanted to buy the chalet as an asset to leave to their children,’ a source said at the time.
‘They holiday in Verbier several times each year as all the family are keen skiers and it makes sense to have their own place there.’
Photographs from 1998 picture the Duke of York as he celebrates his 38th birthday the resort, with his two daughters, then 10 and eight, and the Duchess.
Princess Eugenie also met her husband Jack Brooksbank on a skiing holiday in Verbier eight years ago, when Eugenie was 20 and drinks executive Jack was 24.
The impressive property, in Switzerland’s Valais Canton, features seven bedrooms, its own heated indoor swimming pool with an opulent entertaining area and a sauna
Prince Charles’ biographer has claimed Andrew’s ‘early retirement’ has paved the way for Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, to take an unexpected path
On Friday, Prince Charles’ biographer claimed Andrew’s ‘early retirement’ has paved the way for Prince Harry, 35, and Meghan Markle, 38, to take an unexpected path in the future.
Speaking on the Heirpod podcast, Robert Jobson said: ‘I think with a member of the royal family being effectively retired early, should Harry and Meghan not wish they be part of whole circus… there’s almost a path for them now.
‘If they said to Charles when he’s king, “Look we don’t really see ourselves in this type of role, we wanted a different type of role,” I think he’d be flexible to that.’
He continued: ‘There’s no pressure for them now…In terms of defining who they are and what they want to be if they want to spend half their time in America or somewhere else, I don’t see that as an issue.’