Glamorous gran, 74, behind £7million lawsuit facing Prince Andrew and Fergie over unpaid loan on luxury Swiss ski chalet
A GLAMOROUS jet-setting grandmother is behind the £7million lawsuit facing Prince Andrew and Fergie, The Sun can reveal.
Former pal Isabelle de Rouvre, 74, is said to have “run out of patience” over an unpaid loan on the Swiss ski chalet she sold them.
It threatens to send the royals into crippling debt as Andrew’s earnings have dried up over his links to dead paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Swiss sources say Isabelle rented her £22,000-a-week seven-bed Alpine chalet to royals including Prince Harry in the early 2010s.
She became pals with Andrew and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who stayed at the luxury bolthole in the Verbier ski resort in 2013.
They bought it the next year for around £18million, with Isabelle lending them £5million for the deposit.
However, Andrew and Fergie were unable to meet a deadline for repayment and are now being sued for £6.7million including interest.
A friend of Isabelle’s told The Sun: “She has run out of patience.
“She thought these people would be able to pay their debts.
“She became a family friend because she would let Andrew and Sarah stay in her chalet before she sold it to them.
"But they are hardly close friends any more.”
LEGAL DISPUTE
Paris-born Isabelle, a mum of four and nan of seven, is the ex-wife of F1 and sugar tycoon Cyril de Rouvre.
She is now dating French art dealer Michael Kennedy — former lover of Donald Trump’s ex-wife Ivana.
Now back living in Verbier after several years on the Italian Riviera, she told The Sun: “The case is really very difficult. They have a lawyer and I have mine too.”
Andrew and Fergie are believed to have tried to sell the chalet to pay off the debt by December 31 last year but could find no buyer.
It is understood Swiss prosecutors can serve a summons if funds are not paid within 20 days.
The property could then be seized and auctioned.
It is the latest crisis for the 60-year-old Duke of York.
He stepped down as a senior royal after his car crash Epstein interview on Newsnight last November.
A source said: “Andrew and Fergie’s financial circumstances changed a lot last year and they realised they could not meet their obligations.”
Isabelle’s lawyer Philippe Loretan did not respond to messages.
A spokesman for the duke said: “This a private matter and the subject of legal dispute in which both parties are subject to a confidentiality agreement.”
- GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk