Disgraced royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor allegedly had 40 prostitutes brought to his five-star hotel over just four days during an official taxpayer-funded trip to Thailand, according to royal historian Andrew Lownie.
‘No moral boundaries’
Speaking on the Daily Mail podcast Deep Dive: The Fall of the House of York, Lownie accused Andrew of using his role as the UK’s Trade Envoy to “chase women and line his pockets”. He claimed the former prince “had no moral boundaries” and often turned official visits into private holidays.Lownie described what he called Andrew’s “spectacular fall from grace” and said British diplomats allowed the alleged incidents to happen.Andrew went to Thailand to celebrate the birthday of the King. “There was a famous trip to Thailand for the birthday celebrations of the King. Andrew is representing his country and insists on staying in a five-star hotel rather than the embassy, which he always did,” Lownie said. “Andrew had 40 prostitutes brought in the space of four days. This was all enabled by diplomats and others.”The historian told podcast host Sarah Vine that his information was verified by multiple sources, including a Reuters correspondent and a member of the Thai royal family.
Prince Charles predicted Andrew would ‘chase women and play golf’
Lownie also claimed that then-Prince Charles had warned against giving Andrew the Trade Envoy role back in 2001, fearing he would “just chase women and play golf.” Despite the warning, Lownie said Charles was overruled by then-Prime Minister Tony Blair and his close ally Peter Mandelson.He described Andrew at the time as “a man in the middle of a midlife crisis.” “In 2001, Andrew is 41, he’s having his midlife crisis and he basically starts chasing lots and lots of women,” said Lownie. “He uses the excuse of his role as Trade Envoy, paid for by the taxpayer, to go off on these trips. He always puts in two weeks of ‘private time’. So, we pay for his holiday and then he goes off and does things,” Lownie added.Beyond the claims of sex-fuelled trips, Lownie said his greater concern was Andrew’s alleged misuse of his trade role for personal gain. He accused the former prince of using the position to further business interests for himself and his associate David Rowlands.
Why was Andrew stripped of his titles?
Prince Andrew was first stripped of his military titles and royal patronages in January 2022 after facing a civil sexual assault lawsuit in the United States, filed by Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of abusing her when she was 17 — allegations he denied. His association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had already severely tarnished his public image. Earlier this week, King Charles III went further, removing all of Andrew’s remaining royal titles and honours and evicting him from his Windsor residence, Royal Lodge. The decision followed renewed public outrage after revelations in Giuffre’s posthumous memoir about Epstein’s network and Andrew’s alleged involvement.