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Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Princess Beatrice beams in promo for UAE bank's new London branch on same day explosive claims about Prince Andrew's business dealings released
Princess Beatrice attended the opening of a UAE bank's new London branch just hours before the Mail began serialising a bombshell new book about her family. First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) issued a press release last Friday with a photo showing the royal, who is ninth in line to the throne, smiling in a line-up at the event in Mayfair. However there was no mention of Beatrice in the 605-word statement, which named seven other people attending including the bank's bosses and a Labour minister. Among those in the picture were MP Douglas Alexander, the Minister for Trade Policy and Economic Security; and Mansoor Abulhoul, the UAE Ambassador to the UK. FAB's group chief executive Hana Al Rostamani opened the office, in the presence of the bank's vice chairman Mohamed bin Saif Al Nahyan and three board members. The press release also made reference to 'other dignitaries from the UAE and the UK' having been in attendance, but not naming Beatrice nor mentioning the Royal Family. She was also in photos and videos on the bank's social media channels which suggested the event was last Thursday, a day before the press release came out. The release was issued on the same day that the Mail started serialising Andrew Lownie's explosive new book 'Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York'. The author has published a series of revelations in the book about the finances and alleged infidelity of Beatrice's parents, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. The image was part of a press release issued by First Abu Dhabi Bank announcing the branch It comes less than a year after the 37-year-old mother-of-two visited Abu Dhabi last November on a business trip where she was networking at the highest level. Beatrice was revealed to have been rubbing shoulders with some of the region's key power players both in public and behind the scenes. Her visit came after the Duke of York faced calls to 'come clean' and reveal the secret sources of funding that are bankrolling his stay at Royal Lodge, Windsor. The elder daughter of the disgraced prince spoke about artificial intelligence at the Adipec energy conference in Abu Dhabi on November 4. The Princess also attended a private conference hosted by the UAE minister of industry, Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the day before. She was pictured at the event next to Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is also the UAE's president. The Al Nahyan royal family are one of the world's wealthiest monarchies and believed to own billions of pounds worth of property in London. Reporters were not allowed at the meeting, which included the CEOs of Shell and EDF, the vice president of Microsoft, and former Bank of England governor Mark Carney, now the UN special envoy for climate action. US journalist Hadley Gamble, who interviewed Beatrice at the Adipec conference, told The Mail On Sunday at the time: 'There was a general feeling that Beatrice was an unofficial ambassador for the UK.' She added: 'Beatrice was quite literally in the inner circle at a gathering of global energy CEOs, top finance guys and policy makers.' Beatrice made several visits to the region last autumn, and younger sister Eugenie has also attended events there. Beatrice – who is vice president of tech company Afiniti – was in Saudi Arabia last October for the Future Investment Initiative, described by Reuters news agency as 'an opportunity for attendees to forge relations with some of Saudi Arabia's biggest companies and its $925 billion sovereign wealth fund'. FAB has had a presence in London since 1977, when its predecessor the National Bank of Abu Dhabi became the first Gulf-based bank to operate in the UK. Eugenie, Andrew and Beatrice at Windsor Castle for Harry and Meghan's wedding in May 2018 The new London branch, located at 20 Berkeley Square in Mayfair, is said to offer 'bespoke spaces designed to support private banking, corporate advisory, and tailored client services'. Mr Al Rostamani said: 'Over the past 48 years, the ties between the UK and UAE have deepened, with bilateral trade growing significantly to £24.3billion today. 'The opening of our new London office is more than a relocation; it marks a strategic hub for the future of finance, a place where global insight meets regional expertise, and where innovation fosters lasting relationships.' FAB has also launched what it described as a 'cultural activation exploring the creative and cultural ties between the UK and the UAE', which will feature 'cinematic artist films and immersive storytelling showcases'. It comes after FAB, which is the UAE's biggest lender by assets, beat first-quarter profit estimates in April, boosted by strong growth in non-interest income from fees and commissions. The bank, whose top shareholder is the $330billion Abu Dhabi wealth fund Mubadala, has been led by Mr Al Rostamani since 2021.
News.com.au
4 days ago
- News.com.au
Bombshell claims emerge about Prince Andrew in new biography
It's nearly impossible to know where to start here. This weekend extracts from a bombshell new book about Prince Andrew, The Duke of York laid out a tranche of claims about the reviled, exiled royal, each of which is more stunning than the last. Just some of the absolute jaw-droppers we have to choose from: That Jeffrey Epstein sold the duke's 'most intimate secrets' to Israel's Mossad, the Saudi Arabian authorities and Colonel Gaddafi's Libyan intelligence services; that Andrew met Epstein years earlier than he claimed; that they had 'shared women', that Epstein said the duke was 'perverted animal in the bedroom' and 'the only person I have met who is more obsessed with p***y than me'; or that during an official trip to Bangkok 'more than 40 women were brought to his hotel room'. Think Andrew had a grubby reputation before? Figured your estimation of King Charles' brother couldn't go any lower? Well, enter veteran author Andrew Lownie who after having published critically acclaimed biographies of Lord Mountbatten and Edward VIII has turned his attention to Andrew with his new book Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York. Over the weekend the Daily Mail ran the first extracts from Entitled and the allegations it raises are more explosive than a TNT factory with faulty wiring. Of course, outsiders like us cannot know whether or not any of the now highly publicised claims are true. The prince has yet to make a response. Most damaging are Lownie's new claims about Andrew's friendship with Epstein, including the allegation that they first met years earlier than Andrew has claimed. In 2019 Andrew told the BBC during his infamous Newsnight interview that he had met Epstein in 1999 but Lownie says that Andrew's former private secretary Alastair Watson confirmed the financier and the duke had been introduced in 'the early 1990s'. According to Lownie, Epstein described the duke saying, 'We are both serial sex addicts. He's the only person I have met who is more obsessed with p***y than me. 'From the reports I've got back from the women we've shared, he's the most perverted animal in the bedroom. He likes to engage in stuff that's even kinky to me – and I'm the king of kink!' Ivan Novikov, Epstein's personal driver in New York told Lownie: 'Whenever Andrew was in town I'd be picking up young girls who were essentially prostitutes. 'One time I drove him and two young girls aged around age 18 to a hotel. Both girls were doing lines of cocaine. Prince Andrew was making out with one of them.' The Duke of York also allegedly was a 'mainstay' at Epstein's Palm Beach house, according to Epstein's long-time housekeeper Debra Gale. According to her, the duke 'kept newly- wrapped women's pantyhose, lingerie and sandals of several sizes in his closet'. 'It was weird seeing all that. It appeared he had all types of fetishes,' Ms Gale has said. 'I once found sex toys on the floor of his room and women's panties in the bed. 'When the girls went I'd give them an envelope that Mr Epstein had left, with anywhere from $USD1,000 to $USD25,000 in it.' Ms Gale told Lownie she would see the 'handsy' royal 'a couple of times a year, if not more' and that 'Epstein made it clear he wanted to make Andrew happy'. He writes that the duke was allegedly 'a regular' on Epstein's private island Little St James. An employee of the 72-acre property reportedly told the US Virgin Islands attorney general they had seen him 'on a balcony groping girls right out in the open'. Entitled also makes claims about Andrew and Donald Trump who both reportedly attended Heidi Klum's annual Halloween Party in 2000. According to Lownie, 'Shortly afterwards and clearly good friends, Trump and Andrew were overheard at an event to discuss Trump's plans for a golï¬�ng complex in Scotland, talking entirely about 'p***y', with the American producing a list of masseuses for the prince.' Trump has not yet made a response to these claims. In 2001 the Duke of York retired after a two decade-nearly naval career and was appointed as an international British trade envoy that saw him flit around the world on behalf of the UK government. Andrew 'was easy prey for a rattlesnake like Epstein,' Lownie writes. 'Epstein played Andrew. The prince was a useful idiot who gave him respectability, access to political leaders and business opportunities. He found him easy to exploit.' Lownie writes that, according to Steven Hoffenberg, Epstein's one-time 'mentor', 'Epstein would boast that Andrew was his 'Super Bowl trophy' and he planned to sell Andrew's secrets to Israel's intelligence agency Mossad'. Hoffenberg, who died in 2022, told Lownie: 'Andrew had a weakness for the girls and fast life, Epstein provided that fantasy. Andrew would then give intelligence that Epstein would give to Israel. Andrew didn't understand that he was being used.' Lownie also reports on claims made by 'many in Andrew's circle' to journalist Ian Halperin that Epstein had 'sold Andrew's most intimate secrets to notorious foreign intelligence agencies, including Israel's Mossad, to Saudi Arabia and to the Mukhabarat el-Jamahiriya, the national intelligence service of Libya under Colonel Gaddaï¬�''. He also reports on allegations that 'Epstein had Kremlin connections and may have been an 'agent of influence' for Vladimir Putin.' On Sunday, Lownie told The Times that 'The claim about the kompromat, I've got it from other sources.' One friend of the duke's also said: 'Ghislaine is manipulating him and he's too naive to realise it…It's all very premeditated.' Entitled 's new Andrew claims also extend to his personal life back in the UK. As of 2001, a royal source said, 'There is the spectre of drugs hanging over almost everyone he's now associating with'. A friend reportedly said: 'He's spiralling out of control.' Andrew allegedly asked a woman to dance at at wedding and she turned him down, he replied, 'I suppose a b*** j** is out of the question, then?' He allegedly said to a masseuse, 'Hey, nice ar**e. Do you take it up the a**e?'' She said of the experience, 'All the way through he was talking about anal sex and making anal sex jokes. He asked when I had last had sex.' According to Entitled, 'Nor were staff out of bounds. There was a long-standing rumour of an affair with a household staff member when he was still married to the Duchess of York. One nanny left because he made unwelcome advances. 'When I started,' an employee told Lownie, 'I was warned to stay away from him. He would sometimes enter the staff quarters.' In 2006, Andrew represented the late Queen at the King of Thailand's diamond jubilee celebrations. During his stay, 'more than 40 women were brought to his hotel room'. Lownie writes: 'Hotel staff were used to foreigners bringing in girls, but amazed that more than 10 a day were going to Andrew's room.' Tom Sykes, a longtime and highly connected royal correspondent, has offered a corroborating account in his new Substack newsletter The Royalist. A veteran diplomatic source told Sykes of Andrew's alleged behaviour: 'What was so extraordinary about the Andrew thing was… the sheer number of girls going in and out of his room that weekend—and the fact that he just blatantly didn't give a shit who knew about it. 'I think now the floodgates are opening. If even one-tenth of the women who've slept with him—or just had weird sexual encounters with him—decide to talk, this could be a tsunami of shit for him.' Sykes writes that 'other Thai contacts confirmed' the Bangkok story and 'Even in Bangkok, what he did shocked people.' Back in London, rumours had, according to Sykes swirled for years about Andrew's so-called 'voracious sexual appetite'. Sykes also recounts a 'chilling' joke that is one of the duke's reported favourites: 'The grand old Duke of York, he had 10,000 men—and by golly, I can tell you it hurt.' A woman who knew him during his teenage years at Gordonstoun school in Scotland described him as 'a very slimy so-and-so, arrogant, pleased with himself, a bully'. The Duke of York is also described by former paramours as being 'perfunctory' and a 'let down' in bed who 'has been dumped by most of the girls linked to him because he is a bore.'' Wendy Berry, the housekeeper at King Charles' Highgrove and whose son worked at Buckingham Palace told Lownie: 'Apparently his bedtime habits as a single man left a lot to be desired. A collection of scrunched-up, soiled tissues usually lay scattered around the bed each morning for staff to collect after they had made his bed.' Meanwhile the Duke of York allegedly tells such 'disgusting' jokes that even a friend of his said they left dinner guests 'aghast'. He reportedly joked about farting to Prince Edward's then girlfriend Romy Adlington in the 1980s, 'Don't you ï¬�nd they always smell worse when you do them in the bath?' Andrew's sense of humour is reportedly painfully juvenile. Lownie recounts how at a dinner party he turned to someone beside him and said, 'This pâté smells. What do you think?' and when she lent 'forward to smell it and he promptly pushed her face into the dish.' There is more, so much more from Entitled, like that the Duke of York allegedly pulls off shonky moves on the golf course, pinched bottoms female during house parties, referred to 'The royal member' and could be 'cruel' towards royal staff. It's understandable why, even two weeks before Entitled is released, it is already on the bestseller list. On Sunday a glum-looking Andrew and his ex-wife and roommate Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York were photographed in grey old Windsor. It's hard to get further away from a Caribbean private island or a luxe Bangkok hotel.
