London, November 1, 2025 – In a bombshell disclosure that has sent shockwaves through Buckingham Palace and beyond, royal historian Andrew Lownie has alleged that Prince Andrew, the disgraced younger brother of King Charles III, orchestrated the delivery of 40 prostitutes to his five-star hotel suite in Bangkok over a mere four days during a taxpayer-funded official visit to Thailand. The claims, detailed in Lownie's recently published unauthorized biography Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, paint a picture of unchecked entitlement, diplomatic cover-ups, and a royal figure whose midlife excesses blurred the lines between public duty and private debauchery. This revelation emerges just days after Buckingham Palace announced the formal stripping of Andrew's remaining royal titles, marking a humiliating nadir for the once-charismatic "Randy Andy" and intensifying scrutiny on the British monarchy's handling of scandal.
The alleged incident occurred in 2006, during celebrations for the 60th anniversary of King Bhumibol Adulyadej's reign – Thailand's revered Rama IX, who ruled until his death in 2016. Andrew, then 46 and freshly appointed as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment (a role he held from 2001 to 2011), was ostensibly in Bangkok to represent British interests and foster economic ties. Instead, according to Lownie, the trip devolved into a whirlwind of indulgence. "Andrew had 40 prostitutes brought in the space of four days... just for him," Lownie stated on the Daily Mail's Deep Dive: The Fall of the House of York podcast, hosted by columnist Sarah Vine. He emphasized that the women were escorted directly to Andrew's suite at a luxury hotel – likely the Mandarin Oriental or Grand Hyatt, based on diplomatic records – bypassing standard embassy accommodations that protocol typically demanded.
Lownie's account, corroborated by multiple sources including a Reuters correspondent and a member of the Thai royal family, suggests the operation was not a solo endeavor. "This was all enabled by diplomats and others," he claimed, implying complicity from Andrew's official entourage, including British embassy staff and security details. A former UK diplomat in Bangkok, Ian Proud, who served in the political section from 2003 to 2007, offered a nuanced but damning perspective in a Metro interview. Proud, who scouted venues and accompanied Andrew during trade missions, described an "incredible fascination" with the prince among Thai high society. "There would be all these high society Thai women wanting to hang out with a prince. They were flocking to see him," Proud said. He questioned whether all 40 were paid escorts or a mix of "high-class Thai girls" drawn to Andrew's celebrity, but acknowledged the story's plausibility: "The only question about the 40 escorts story is whether they were all escorts or... high-class Thai girls wanting a bit of a cuddle with a prince."
This was no isolated frolic. Lownie's book chronicles Andrew's tenure as trade envoy as a decade of systematic abuse of privilege. Trips to Southeast Asia, including Thailand, were routinely padded with two weeks of "private time" after official duties, transforming diplomatic jaunts into extended holidays at public expense. Former Conservative MP and trade envoy Paul Scully recounted to Times Radio how Andrew once booked nearly an entire floor of Bangkok's Mandarin Oriental during a visit for the Thai king's funeral, a splurge estimated at £50,000 ($65,000) – all footed by British taxpayers. Scully, who overlapped with Andrew's era, highlighted the prince's insistence on opulent stays over modest embassy residences, a pattern Lownie says was emblematic of Andrew's disdain for fiscal restraint.
The Thailand allegations form part of a broader narrative of moral and professional lapses. Lownie describes Andrew's appointment in 2001 as a "midlife crisis" pivot at age 41, post-Royal Navy, where he channeled unfulfilled ambitions into a hedonistic pursuit of women and golf. Then-Prince Charles (now King) reportedly warned Prime Minister Tony Blair against the role, quipping that Andrew would "only chase women and play golf." Blair and his ally Peter Mandelson overruled him, a decision Lownie lambasts as catastrophic. Andrew's envoy stints allegedly doubled as networking for personal gain: he arranged China meetings for associate David Rowlands and aided his Middle East banking license bids, all under the guise of UK trade promotion. "There remains a conspiracy of silence around Andrew’s dealings as Trade Envoy," Lownie told Vine. Official files from his 10-year tenure remain sealed, despite Freedom of Information requests, fueling suspicions of a palace-orchestrated whitewash.
These fresh claims collide with Andrew's accelerating downfall. On October 30, 2025, Buckingham Palace issued a terse statement: King Charles had "initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew." He is now Andrew Mountbatten Windsor – shorn of "Prince," "Duke of York," and attendant styles like Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh. Formal notice was served to vacate Royal Lodge, the 30-room Windsor mansion he's occupied since 2002 on a peppercorn lease (symbolically one shilling annually), with repairs costing taxpayers £7.5 million ($9.7 million). Andrew will relocate to a private residence on the Sandringham estate, funded by Charles's personal fortune, while his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson receives no further support. His daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, retain their titles.
The eviction stems from Andrew's entanglement with Jeffrey Epstein, the late US financier convicted of sex trafficking. Court documents unsealed in February 2025 revealed an email from Andrew to Epstein: "We're in this together" and "We'll play some more soon!!!" – contradicting his public denials of ongoing ties. Epstein survivor Virginia Giuffre, who died in April 2025 at 41, accused Andrew of sexual assault three times, including an Epstein island orgy; he settled her 2022 lawsuit for £12 million ($15.5 million) without admitting liability. Giuffre's posthumous memoir Nobody's Girl described Andrew's entitlement as a "birthright." Palace sources deem these "serious lapses of judgment," with sympathies extended to abuse survivors.
Lownie's podcast appearance, recorded pre-announcement, underscores the monarchy's inertia. "If there had been proper scrutiny of Andrew during his time as Trade Envoy, some of these problems might not have happened," he told Vine. He accuses the late Queen Elizabeth II of complicity, citing reports from police protection officers (PPOs) and embassies that kept her informed. "She knew exactly what was going on," Lownie insisted, corroborated by Daily Beast reporter Tom Sykes, who independently verified the "industrial-scale sexual consumption" under "the full apparatus of the British state." Andrew's reported outbursts – berating staff over a nylon tie or facial mole – further illustrate his volatility.
Public reaction has been swift and scathing. On X (formerly Twitter), posts from users like @TalkTV amassed over 14,000 views, with clips of Lownie's interview sparking outrage: "Taxpayer-funded holidays for this?" one commenter fumed. A YouGov poll post-announcement shows 68% of Britons support the title stripping, with Andrew polling as the monarchy's most reviled figure. Royal commentator Afua Hagan called it a bid to "restore the regalness of the Firm," prioritizing the Crown over fraternal bonds.
Lownie, a self-described "disappointed monarchist" who interviewed hundreds including Ferguson, warns of deeper rot. He speculates Andrew and Ferguson could face prison over financial probes, including Epstein's £15,000 ($19,400) "gift" to her. The book alleges Epstein peddled Andrew's "intimate secrets" to Mossad and Saudi intelligence, with Hoffenberg dubbing him Epstein's "Super Bowl trophy." Andrew denies all, but his 2019 BBC Newsnight fiasco – claiming inability to sweat – sealed his exile.
As Andrew packs for Norfolk, the monarchy grapples with irreparable damage. Lownie's coda is blunt: Andrew brings "disrepute on the whole institution" and must be "thrown under the bus." With files sealed and victims' voices amplified, the question lingers: How much more was buried to protect the throne? The Thai tale, verified yet veiled for years, suggests the cover was vast – and the bill, literal and figurative, immense.
