Oh! The Queen’s birth anniversary has survived. The British press has hailed as a relief the transaction concluded by Prince Andrew’s lawyers with Virginia Giuffre, the American who accused him of sexual assault in 2001. The Duke of York thus avoided the great unpacking before the courts in the year in which Elizabeth II celebrates her seventy years of reign with great fanfare.

However, this relief was short-lived. At least until a question arises: where will the money come from? Royal commentators question the amount of £12 million (14 million euros) that is mentioned in the press to settle any disputes. “The Queen will help pay for this settlement”, believes the “Telegraph”, which makes its front page. Highly sensitive information when we know that the monarchy receives subsidies from the taxpayer every year, theoretically for royal commitments and the upkeep of Buckingham Palace.

generation of wealth

According to the British daily, the Queen could use the income of her Duchy of Lancaster, which was estimated at £23 million a year. “The origins of the Duke’s personal fortune have long been a mystery, difficult to explain from his modest pension from the Navy and his annual endowment of £250,000 from the Queen”, picks the “Telegraph”, whose views are often favorable to the monarchy. , Prince has put his luxury chalet in Verbier, Switzerland, which he acquired in 2014, for sale, but he retains large debt related to the transaction.

One thing is certain, “the real value of the reputation of the ninth in line to the throne is immeasurable”, observes the newspaper. As evidence, Rachel Muskell, Labor MP for the York constituency, asked that the Duke no longer be associated with the city, which had already lost its military and royal titles, in addition to being deprived of all official roles in the royal family.