PRINCE Andrew's mysterious sources of money have cast his finances into the spotlight once again after he agreed to a settlement worth up to £12m with his sex accuser Virginia Roberts.

Despite getting just £270k a year from his allowance from the Queen and small naval pension combined, the Duke of York has settled out of court to spare him from a humiliating civil case.

This came just weeks after he demanded a trial by jury as he strongly denied Roberts' claims that he had sex with her three times when she was a teenager.

Although the exact amount of the settlement hasn't yet been released, it has been reported that it could be as high as £12m.

Speaking to The Sun Online, royal finances expert David McClure said: "This settlement came far earlier than any of us expected."

As David previously said, the sources of Andrew's money have long been "shrouded in mystery".

He officially receives an allowance from the Queen in the region of £248k a year and a naval pension of around £20k annually.

But, as David points out, he will have other sources of paying this settlement.

Last month, Andrew sold a Swiss ski chalet bought by him and Sarah Ferguson in 2014 ahead of any upcoming legal costs he might face.

The chalet was worth around £17m, but David claims he will have made a fraction of that in selling it.

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"Prince Andrew has made a few million from that sale, but he will have to split that with Fergie, and he had a mortgage to pay on it, so he is likely to have lost money on it," David said.

He also likely has money left over from the 2007 sale of Sunninghill Park, his and Fergie's former home, to a Kazakh oligarch for £15m, £3m over the asking price.

Much of the money to pay for the settlement is likely to have come from the Queen.

"The Queen will help pay for her son's settlement for the simple reason that she has disposable money and he doesn't," he said.

"There is a precedent for this with the Queen supporting her children when she helped Prince Charles who had a £17m divorce settlement with Princess Diana that he couldn't pay."

Her Majesty's money is likely to have come from two main sources, according to David: the Duchy of Lancaster and her own private portfolio of investments.

Dating back over 650 years, the Duchy of Lancaster is the Royal Family's private estate, providing an independent source of income for the monarchy.

Last year alone, it is reported to have netted the Queen around £23m, which, according to David, is the most likely source of Andrew's settlement money.

He said the Queen is also likely to have her own "portfolio of private investments," but "no one knows how much this is".

The Royal Family doesn't want the reputational damage of an embarrassing court case

As she didn't pay any income tax up until 1993, it is believed that she built up a number of stocks and shares that she could dip into to help bail Andrew out.

"She will have paid because the Royal Family doesn't want the reputational damage of an embarrassing court case in any year, let alone the Queen's platinum jubilee year."

However, David challenged the figure of £12m for the settlement as "too high", saying the true figure would be no higher than £10m and could be more in the region of £5m.

Away from his mother, Andrew is believed to have some private sources of income in the form of financial advice he allegedly received from figures such as Wall Street billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

The paedo financier also gave Sarah Ferguson a £15k loan to cover some of her costs, which later came to light in 2011.

Andrew is also alleged to have worked as what David calls a "door-opener" for foreign banks, although he warns that this source of revenue "has now completely ended" for the Duke.

He owns no property publicly, and rents the Royal Lodge near Windsor off the Queen for a peppercorn rent.

"He doesn't have much in the way of valuable assets," David said. "His cars may be leased, but he could sell his Bentley or an expensive watch or two."

It comes as MPs have called for an inquiry into the source of Andrew's settlement money, to ensure that none of the cash comes from the public purse.

Labour MP Jess Phillips told The Sun Online: "It is perfectly reasonable for the public to be told if their money has played a part in this settlement and honesty and transparency on this matter would be the best approach by the Prince in order to answer these questions.

"I have no idea how Prince Andrew is going to demonstrate his regret or work to combat child trafficking and sex crimes, however, I cannot see how he would be considered an ally in that fight by those who work day in day out to end the increasing problem of child sex trafficking in the UK."

A number of other politicians have also called for an investigation into Prince Andrew's court cash.

Labour MP Nadia Whittome tweeted: "This settlement isn't some act of philanthropy – it prevents this case going to court. We must also ask, where is the money coming from?"

While York Central MP Rachael Maskell called on the prince to give up his title of Duke of York out of respect for the people of the city.

David added: "Andrew is finished, and will have been told as much by the Royal Family. The Palace will have ordered him to keep his head down. He has lost his titles. He needs to keep out of the papers for the year of the Queen's jubilee."

And David warned Andrew's problems may only worsen once his brother Charles becomes king.

"Andrew is likely to find his brother far less generous than his mother," he said. The Queen more than likely pays for Andrew's security. Charles will be stricter on the 'badly-behaved' royals."

He said Andrew could even offer to leave the Royal Lodge and work for a charity as a sign of humility.

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