Prince Andrew buys £13 million Verbier ski chalet with former wife

It is believed that the embattled Prince made the purchase with Sarah Ferguson before Christmas as a family investment

Princess Beatrice (C) poses for photograph with her parents, Britain's Prince Andrew, the Duke York (L) and Sarah Ferguson following her graduation ceremony at Goldsmiths College, in London

Prince Andrew and former wife Sarah Ferguson are alleged to have bought a £13 million ski chalet in the exclusive Swiss village Verbier.

The joint purchase of the seven bedroom chalet, complete with indoor swimming pool and staffed by six, was made shortly before Christmas, according to The Daily Mail.

Verbier is a holiday and ski resort in the Swiss Alps, commonly recognised as having some of the best off-piste skiing in the world. It is also renowned for its expensive exclusivity, with many celebrities jostling alongside professional skiers as they enjoy the slopes.

The Duke of York and his ex-wife are believed to have taken out a joint mortgage on the property, estimated to be worth between £10 and £13 million, as a investment for their two daughters Beatrice and Eugenie.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment. But a source close to the Duchess is reported to have claimed to the Mail that: “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,” the source claimed.

Prince Andrew, 54, and Mrs Ferguson, 55, divorced in 1998 after separating in 1992.

News of the sale, completed on 11 November but not legally approved by the Swiss government until 19 December, comes amid the emergence of US court documents claiming that Prince Andrew had sex with an underage girl.

Buckingham Palace has said that “‘any suggestion of impropriety with under-age minors is categorically untrue”.

Prince Andrew has also consistently denied the claims made by Virginia Roberts.