“Andrew is representing his country and insists on staying in a five-star hotel rather than the embassy, which he always did,” Lownie said.
Lownie went so far as to suggest the late Queen Elizabeth II would have known “exactly what was going on”, as people had raised the potential scandal with her, the Mercury News reports.
Lownie has claimed to have several sources who can corroborate the allegations, including a Reuters correspondent and a Thai royal.
The rumours came just before Buckingham Palace’s release of a formal statement yesterday, announcing the King had stripped Andrew of his sole remaining title – that of “Prince”.
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the press release reads.
“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
Andrew had already given up his other titles, including those of Duke of York and Earl of Inverness, after he was yet again embroiled in scandal regarding his former friend Jeffrey Epstein.
His long-standing association with the convicted paedophile disgraced the royal family and implicated Andrew in sexual abuse, allegations subsequently reinforced by Virginia Giuffre’s accusations she was coerced into having sexual encounters with him in the early 2000s.
The palace also publicised that formal notice had been served for Andrew’s lease on Royal Lodge, confirming the rumours he and ex-wife Sarah Ferguson were being made to depart their long-time residence.