It is a devastating portrait of Prince Andrew which – even by his standards – contains sensational details about his relationships and finances.
But historian Andrew Lownie, whose forensic biography of the disgraced Duke of York, Entitled, was released last week, has said there will be more revelations to come.
The royal biographer has told The Mail on Sunday that friends of the prince have come forward ‘in droves’ to say they are now willing to paint the ‘full picture’ about his extravagant past.
Many are formerly loyal associates who had originally declined to be involved in the book but have been emboldened to come forward since its publication.
And so many have now offered to contribute that the historian – who spent four years working on Entitled, and interviewed hundreds of people for his research – has been invited by his publisher to produce an updated edition.
Speaking to the MoS, Mr Lownie said it would be an ‘entirely new book’ which would be ready by next summer.
‘The amazing and astonishing thing that’s happened since Entitled came out is that people have come forward in droves with more stories to tell about Prince Andrew,’ he said. ‘Those who felt they couldn’t speak to me before have now changed their mind or have realised they’ve been covering things up for him out of misplaced loyalty.
‘A lot of respectable people who declined to be involved in the book are now coming forward, keen to unload the secrets they’ve been keeping for all these years.
The scandalous details of Prince Andrew’s life have been laid bare in historian Andrew Lownie’s new book Entitled
The royal biographer has told The Mail on Sunday that friends of the prince have come forward ‘in droves’ to say they are now willing to paint the ‘full picture’ about his extravagant past
Speaking to the Mail on Sunday, Mr Lownie said it would be an ‘entirely new book’ which would be ready by next summer. Such news will no doubt be particularly unwelcome for beleaguered Andrew and his former wife Sarah, Duchess of York
‘So my Andrew book is going to have to be substantially rewritten from start to finish. It will be an entirely new book, not just a few new chapters, and I’ll get it done in time for the paperback release next summer. I think my book really broke the inertia surrounding Prince Andrew.’
Such news will no doubt be particularly unwelcome for beleaguered Andrew and his former wife Sarah, Duchess of York, who also receives an unflattering portrait in Mr Lownie’s book.
Commentators have already suggested that the claims in the book – serialised earlier this month by the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday – have sealed Andrew’s fate, making a return to public life all but impossible.
Any further scandal could also prove difficult for the Royal Family more widely.
Mr Lownie has already alluded to the fact that the passages he was forced to remove for legal reasons were enough to bring down the monarchy.
He has also admitted that the financial dealings he has reported so far – including £750,000 from Turkish millionaire Nebahat Isbilen which ended up in Andrew’s Coutts account, described as a gift for Princess Beatrice’s wedding and then repaid, and huge loans to Andrew from Banque Havilland, owned by the family of multi-millionaire scrap metal merchant David Rowland – are only ‘the tip of the iceberg’. Mr Lownie told one interviewer: ‘You know, there’s money clearly from… China. There’s clearly a lot of money in the Middle East.’
And now the author had Philip in his sights, too
Andrew Lownie’s new book will focus on Prince Philip, we can reveal. It will also include details about his relationship with Susan Barrantes, the mother of Sarah, Duchess of York
By the time the book is published, it will be close to a decade since the duke’s death, and Lownie believes public attitudes will have shifted yet further. ‘People might be ready to hear some of the stories about his private life,’ he says
Commentators have already suggested that the claims in Mr Lownie’s book – serialised earlier this month by the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday – have sealed Andrew’s fate, making a return to public life all but impossible
Author Andrew Lownie’s next subject for a ‘warts and all’ biography will be the late Duke of Edinburgh, we can reveal.
He has set aside four years for the project, in which he plans to delve into details of Prince Philip’s personal life, including the discovery – hinted at in Entitled – that he enjoyed a romance with Susan Barrantes, the mother of Sarah, Duchess of York.
‘I’ve put in all the FOIs [Freedom of Information requests] for a Prince Philip book already,’ Mr Lownie says. ‘I’m told a great deal of time after his death was spent by those in his employment burning all his papers, but I’m working very hard to get what I can.’
One surprising early find was the late duke’s school report, which was intended to be kept classified and inaccessible to the public for 100 years. ‘Why they kept it classified for 100 years, I don’t know,’ Mr Lownie adds.
‘But I’ve got it. It shows his recommendations for the Royal Navy, and it’s now at last declassified and available. Times are changing, they do need to start declassifying more and more records for the royals. People expect more transparency from the monarchy now.’
By the time the book is published, it will be close to a decade since the duke’s death, and Lownie believes public attitudes will have shifted yet further.
‘People might be ready to hear some of the stories about his private life,’ he says. ‘When I wrote about his relationship with Fergie’s mother, Susan Barrantes, in the Prince Andrew book, people got very cross with me, saying, “He’s not here to defend himself”.
‘But I am very much working on getting lots of evidence together.’
Mr Lownie, who wrote a 2019 biography about Philip’s uncle, Lord Mountbatten, was confronted by former Cabinet minister and now GB News host Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg over the ‘unfounded allegations’ about the late Queen’s husband he included in Entitled.
But he says: ‘Jacob Rees-Mogg might want me to have got hold of a signed affidavit from Prince Philip, and we can never get hold of that, but I’m going to have a thoroughly researched piece with plenty of FOIs and evidence.’
