Ex-Prince Andrew had 40 prostitutes brought to a Thailand hotel on a taxpayer-funded trip, biographer alleges

After Andrew Mountbatten was stripped off his Royal Title, new claims by the royal historian and author come to light

Updated on: Nov 1, 2025, 01:58:37 IST

By Shirin Gupta

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Andrew, former Prince and Duke of York (now Andrew Mountbatten Windsor) allegedly orchestrated a four-day extravaganza involving 40 prostitutes at a five-star Bangkok hotel during a taxpayer-funded trip in the early 2000s. The revelations were made public by royal biographer Andrew Lownie in his new book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York.

Claims made by Lownie

Lownie claimed that in 2001, when Andrew was 41 and serving as the UK’s Trade Envoy, he'd opted for luxury lodging rather than embassy accommodation during a high-profile visit to Thailand for King Bhumibol’s birthday celebrations.

While the trip was publicly a diplomatic mission, Lownie alleged that the official itinerary included a “private time” segment during which Andrew requested the delivery of dozens of women to his hotel suite.

“In the space of four days, Andrew had 40 prostitutes brought in,” Lownie said in a podcast interview excerpted in the Daily Mail-run Deep Dive series. “What we are seeing is a pattern of trips paid for by the taxpayer that were used for personal indulgence.”

Lownie urged the release of the British government's National Archives. He called for the release of files from the time Andrew acted as the Trade Envoy, arguing that there was a “conspiracy of silence.”

British government and palace officials have declined to comment specifically on Lownie’s new claims, stating only that they take “all serious allegations regarding misconduct by members of the Royal Family extremely seriously”, as per The Times.

Meanwhile, diplomatic sources in Bangkok reportedly suggest that the stay at the five-star Mandarin Oriental or Grand Hyatt (depending on the year) resulted in taxpayer cost burdens of tens of thousands of pounds.

While Andrew has not publicly addressed the prostitute-allegation headline, he has previously denied the vast majority of abuse allegations connected to his financial, legal and personal conduct.

Andrew's removal from Dukedom

The allegations come at a moment of change for Andrew’s royal standing. On October 30, Buckingham Palace announced the removal of his dukedom and royal styles, citing “serious lapses of judgement”. His lease at Royal Lodge, Windsor, was reportedly terminated.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shirin Gupta
Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More

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