It has been reported that Prince Charles is lending Prince Andrew millions to help him settle the sexual assault claim made by Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Though Charles and the rest of the royal family hoped that the Duke of York would settle the lawsuit without going to trial, to avoid further embarrassing the royal family, the decision to provide his brother with such a large loan may perhaps be the first mistake of his reign as king.

The royal family has struggled under the weight of a variety of scandals the last couple of years, including Megxit, cash for honours and, most seriously, allegations that Prince Andrew sexually assaulted a 17-year-old young woman who was being trafficked by Jeffery Epstein.

The Duke of York’s guilt in the situation is negligible, did he have a sexual relationship with her? Did he know that she was underage? We’ll probably never know, but it’s the accusation and his arrogance in the face of the situation that has buried Prince Andrew under the weight of the controversy.

When Roberts Giuffre brought a case against him, Prince Andrew really had no choice but to settle, as going through with a case would have been far more damaging to him and the rest of the monarchy. 

However, it came with a huge cost.

The settlement is allegedly about £12 million pounds, including a £2 million donation to Roberts Giuffre’s charity. It all is a bit excessive, especially for a man that really that has no other income, so it has apparently fallen to Prince Charles to help bail his brother out of the mess.

Reportedly, Prince Charles has “agreed to stump up the bulk of the money the Duke owes,” with the agreement that he will pay it back as soon as Andrew’s Swiss ski chalet sells.

As The Telegraph reports: “Once it hits his bank account, he can pay back his brother and whoever else has lent him money.

“But that payment (to Ms Giuffre) has to be paid on time. He can’t rely on selling the chalet. 

“Too many things can go wrong, and the court won’t wait for property queries.”

Additionally, a friend of Andrew’s shared: “He has no income or money to repay a bank loan, so the family is the only way to guarantee the payment.”

This is unfortunate. 

Though it’s likely that Prince Charles will be given his full restitution—as the brothers have never been on friendly terms, and if he doesn’t repay the balance will be deducted from his inheritance—but it’s still a bit of a bad look in terms of headlines.

Couldn’t the agreement be that once the chalet sells, the appropriate funds are sent as soon as possible? Why did Andrew have to drag the monarchy into his mess, yet again? Especially at such a delicate time.

No doubt, even though it’s only temporary, this payment will be brought up by Charles’ detractors in the future and could potentially damage the beginning of his reign.