Prince Andrew ‘partied with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell in Thailand’

Prince Andrew partied with topless women and visited the red light district while holidaying in Thailand with Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, reports say.

The Duke of York was pictured relaxing on a sundrenched yacht in Phuket, surrounded by topless women in 2001.

At the time, Andrew was vacationing with the billionaire paedophile, while Maxwell is also understood to have been on the trip, flying out with him and staying in the same luxury hotel.

Andrew’s controversial friendships with the paedophile couple have come under intense scrutiny in recent months after Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking for Epstein.

The duke, 61, is also accused of being involved in Epstein’s criminal activities, with Virginia Guiffre claiming she was forced to have sex with him aged 17. He has denied the allegations.

According to reports in The Sun and The Mirror on Sunday, Andrew grew closer to Epstein and Maxwell during the same period as the Phuket holiday.

He was reportedly seen with Epstein in bars around a resort town on the island, including one staffed by semi-naked dancers.

Andrew and Maxwell are understood to have stayed at the exclusive Amanpuri hotel, where the duke stayed in a £4,000-a-night private villa featuring a private black-tiled swimming pool.

Lana, a Canadian journalist based in Phuket, told The Sun: ‘The Amanpuri is an ultra-exclusive resort – it’s kind of the go-to place for celebrities and people needing a high level of luxury and privacy.’

During the day, the duke and Epstein are said to have relaxed on the hotel’s yacht, where they were pictured, and visited Patong at night.

The town is about an hour’s drive from the hotel and is a popular tourist spot. While there the pair allegedly visited the Banana Disco.

Lana, who runs the travel blog gophuket.net, said: ‘Banana Disco is a nightclub popular with tourists – nothing exclusive, just DJ music and cocktails and a dance floor.’

Reports say Epstein and Andrew also visited an adult bar called Crazy Girls by Rock Hard.

The bar’s Facebook page promises visitors ‘the craziest and sexiest ass-smacking bar with the best friendly ambiance and atmosphere’.

The pair were allegedly recognised while visiting the venue, with a former manager telling The Sunday Mirror he was ‘amazed to see the prince here’.

‘But he was not at all fazed and seemed quite relaxed until people realised who he was,’ he said.

The manager said he asked the duke: ‘Are you Prince Andrew? To which he replied: “Yes I am. How did you know that?”‘

He added: ‘When I recognised Andrew, his bodyguard put his finger to his lips indicating that I should not draw attention to him.

‘They stayed for about half an hour until other guests started to notice who he was.’

In an ITV documentary this week, a friend of the pair sensationally claimed Andrew and Maxwell may have dated in the early noughties.

Speaking on ‘Ghislaine, Prince Andrew and the Paedophile’, British investment banker Euan Rellie said: ‘I got the sense that Prince Andrew and Ghislaine had probably been girlfriend and boyfriend in the past. They had an easy warmth around each other.’

Concerns were raised at the time about the circles Andrew was moving in.

The People quoted an old friend of the prince as saying: ‘It is time he woke up and smelt reality.

‘Andrew has no idea what he is getting into with these people. He knows next-to-nothing about most of them.’

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