Prince Charles 'will lend Duke of York millions to settle sex assault claim'

Charles is said to be making a substantial offer to disgraced Duke of York to settle Virginia Roberts Giuffre case. Photo / Getty Images

The Prince of Wales will lend the Duke of York several million pounds to enable him to pay off his accuser ahead of a court-imposed deadline, it has been claimed.

The Duke, 62, reached an out of court settlement with Virginia Roberts Giuffre last month, which meant he no longer faced a jury trial on claims that he sexually abused and raped her on three separate occasions when she was 17.

The financial deal is understood to exceed £12 million ($NZD23 million), including £2 million contribution to Giuffre's sex trafficking charity thought to have been paid by the Queen.

New York judge Lewis Kaplan gave the Duke until March 17 to make the full payment - warning that if he failed to do so, the case would go to trial.

The Duke is in the process of selling his only known asset, a Verbier ski chalet he bought with his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, in 2014 as a "family investment" with a mortgage and private funding from the Queen.

Insiders say Prince Andrew wants to return to public life after his settlement. Photo / Getty Images

Prince Charles agreed to stump up the bulk of the money the Duke owes Giuffre on the grounds that he repays it when he has sold the chalet, according to The Sun.

"There were family discussions about how to 'take a little from here and a little from there'," a source told the newspaper.

"Once it hits his bank account, he can pay back his brother and whoever else has lent him money.

"But that payment (to 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."

A friend of the Duke added: "He has no income or money to repay a bank loan, so the family is the only way to guarantee the payment."

If he fails to repay the loan, it will allegedly be deducted from his share of inheritance from the Queen, who has also privately funded his legal fight to the tune of millions of pounds.

The civil claim Giuffre lodged with a New York court last August caused significant reputational damage, not only to the Duke but to the wider Royal family.

The Duke came under increasing pressure from Buckingham Palace to draw a line under proceedings.

There were particular fears that if the Duke was subjected to a deposition, which was scheduled for March 10, it could lead to lurid personal details emerging in the public domain.

Prince Charles is said to have been chief among those who repeatedly warned that he could not risk allowing the case to progress any further.

With the Duke's personal reputation deemed beyond repair, the focus shifted to ensuring that the Queen and the wider institution suffered no further humiliation from the scandal, particularly in his mother's Platinum Jubilee year.