PRINCE Andrew will pay around £12 million to avoid a US court case in which he was accused of being a sexual predator.

Of this, around £10m will go to Giuffre’s charity, Victims Refuse Silence, which supports victims of sexual abuse.

The National:

Prince Andrew (above, left) denies both abusing Giuffre (above, middle) and ever knowing her. 

READ MORE: Queen holds in-person audience day after Prince Andrew settles sexual assault lawsuit

This money is understood to be coming from the Queen’s coffers – leading to demands the Crown comes clean about where the money is coming from.

It appears £12m is the cost of avoiding a potentially damaging and expensive civil court case. But what could it buy for Scotland?

Healthcare

Based on the latest nurse pay scales, the salary for a Band 5 nurse in Scotland with two to four years’ experience is at least £28,049.

The National:

This means Prince Andrew could have paid for 427 vital healthcare workers, instead of avoiding a court case.

The cost of one year of a medicine course at Glasgow University is £1820, meaning Prince Andrew could have put 1318 Scots through five years of medical training.

READ MORE: Queen to 'help Prince Andrew pay £12m Virginia Giuffre settlement'

He could have funded the wages of 453 junior doctors in Scottish hospitals, on a starting salary of £26,462.

Education

Prince Andrew’s settlement was enough to cover a year’s pay for 436 probationary teachers in Scotland, based on a starting salary of £27,498.

The National:

It could have paid for 419 music instructors, who are paid £28,809 at the lowest end of the pay scale.

Or he could have funded the wages of 585 classroom assistants in Scottish schools – based on an average salary of £20,501.

Other

Prince Andrew could have paid for Police Scotland to pay the wages of 448 new constables on a starting salary of £26,737.

The National:

For £12m, Prince Andrew could have bought a small fish supper for every single homeless person in Britain (some 277,000 individuals, according to an estimate from Crisis) – NINE times over.

The National:

Based on the average cost of building a council house in Falkirk last year (£209,404), the Prince could have funded the construction of 57 new council homes.

READ MORE: The Prince's Foundation probed by Met Police over 'cash-for-honours'

Based on an average dual-fuel cost of £1455, you could pay the annual energy bills of 8247 households – that’s nearly enough to heat every home in Stornoway (8846 households as of 2011 census).

And lastly…

Unfortunately, Prince Andrew’s favourite chain of pizza parlours are not planning to create any more restaurants soon, so it was not possible to say how many Pizza Express branches one could open for £12m.

The National:

But, based on an initial investment cost of £130,000, he could open 92 new Pizza Huts across the UK.

What are people saying?

Royal finances expert and author David McClure said there is “enormous public interest” in the sum and the source of the funding being disclosed, saying: “I really think for once the royal family should come clean and say where the money came from.”

Labour’s Rachael Maskell, who represents York Central, repeated a call made last month, saying Andrew should give up his association with the city out of respect.

She said: “To demonstrate his seriousness in this endeavour, and his respect for those affected by abuse and the people of our city, I would ask that his first act of contrition is to confirm his support for the withdrawal of his ducal title.”