Prince Andrew allegedly had 40 prostitutes brought to his five-star hotel over the course of four days during an official visit to Thailand, a royal historian has claimed.

According to author and historian Andrew Lownie, the disgraced Duke of York — then serving as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment — arranged for the women to visit his room during a taxpayer-funded trip to mark the Thai king’s birthday celebrations.

Lownie told the Daily Mail that the encounters were facilitated by “diplomats and others” while Andrew was representing Britain overseas.

Between 2001 and 2011, the Duke acted as the UK’s trade envoy, though Lownie claimed that the now-King Charles, then Prince of Wales, had privately warned Prime Minister Tony Blair against giving his brother the role, fearing Andrew would “chase women and play golf” rather than focus on diplomacy.

Lownie, who detailed Andrew’s controversial career in his book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, said the Duke often refused to stay in British embassies during official trips, instead insisting on luxury accommodation and adding up to two weeks of “private time” to his itineraries.