A retired UK official has claimed Prince Andrew met “escorts” and “high society” Thai ladies drawn to his royal status while he was in Thailand as a UK ambassador of trade. The former Duke of York, who has relinquished his official titles amid the ongoing allegations about Jeffrey Epstein and sex abuse victim Virginia Giuffre, made a number of private and taxpayer-funded trips to the country.
Ian Proud, who headed the political section at the UK Embassy, said: “He also went on private trips to see his bits of fluff on the side, where we played a much lighter role in stewarding him through.”
He added: “There would be all these high society Thai women wanting to hang out with a prince. They were flocking to see him, there was an incredible fascination with him.”
In his salacious biography of Prince Andrew, author Andrew Lownie claims that Andrew had 40 escorts “brought to him” during one trip to Thailand.
Referring to this, Mr Proud told the Metro: “The only question about the 40 escorts story is whether they were all escorts or were they high-class Thai girls wanting to have a bit of a cuddle with a prince, that’s my personal view.”
The retired official, now 57, would recce venues for the prince’s business programme and also spent time with him at events and at Bangkok’s airport during his time at the Embassy between 2003 and 2007.
Data obtained by the Metro shows “eye-watering” hotel costs by the Prince, despite them being able to stay at the ambassador’s residence. These include £46,100 spent on a 13-day tour of Southeast Asia in October 2010, while the hotel bill was £37,000, with £3,800 spent on internal travel and £5,400 spent on “associated items’—defined as “communications and allowances”.
