Andrew Lownie, who has spent four years digging into Prince Andrew’s life. claims far less attention has been paid to how the duke has been able to finance his extravagant lifestyle.

A controversial new book claims Prince Andrew’s financial affairs are present an immediate issue to the Queen’s son, according to its author who has spent four years digging into the duke’s life.

Andrew Lownie claims the King’s brother’s association with alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo has raised questions about his finances. The author not only scrutinises Andrew’s business activities but also that of his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, along with their daughters Princess Beatrice, 36, and Princess Eugenie, 34.

His book, The Lives of the Duke and Duchess of York, is not released until later this year, but in an interview in The Sunday Times, Mr Lownie claims the public narrative about Andrew is that he spends a lonely life trapped in Royal Lodge, going for horse rides in Windsor Great Park and playing video games and golf – but he alleges the reality is quite different.

Mr Lownie claims the Duchess of York is caught up in the financial affairs of the Duke ( 
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Getty Images)

Prince Andrew has been investigated ( 
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PA)
He details how, according to one source, Andrew has continued his business activities with recent trips to the Middle East and Switzerland, adding “The King can only hope there are no further scandals to emerge and the press and public soon lose interest in his brother, on present evidence, that is very unlikely.”

Mr Lownie alleges that as many focus on the prince’s association with Jeffrey Epstein and the claims made by Virginia Giuffre, far less attention is paid to how the duke has been able to finance his extravagant lifestyle.

The Duke’s finances are a long-standing issue, with speculation about how he could afford to live in the 32-room Royal Lodge, to buy a Swiss chalet for £18 million and to acquire a collection of luxury watches as well as garage of luxury cars, including a £220,000 Bentley and a string of Range Rovers.

The Prince can afford a luxury lifestyle ( 
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UK Press via Getty Images)Mr Lownie however, says researching Andrew has been a “remarkably difficult process” claiming that although there should be “thousands of publicly available files relating to his time as special representative for the decade up to 2011”. However, he says both the Foreign Office and Department of Business and Trade claim to have nothing on record.

He claims he has asked for dozens of requests under the Freedom of Information act but has been denied again and again. Mr Lownie said: “These difficulties have been compounded by the additional protection afforded to the royal family, even though Andrew’s time as special representative was as a taxpayer-funded public servant and Buckingham Palace now claim he is no longer a royal.

The royal family is largely exempt from the Freedom of Information Act; there is a convention that parliamentary questions are not asked about the family. “Wills, even those of the most minor members, are closed, making it difficult to trace wealth.

“There was controversy after Prince Philip died when the application to ensure his will was closed for 90 years was held in a secret hearing, amid suspicion that the initially penniless prince died a rich man. We do not know what was in Queen Elizabeth’s will, including what she left her son Andrew.”