It is a short flight by private jet – his own, naturally – from David Rowland’s luxury Channel Islands hideaway to tax-efficient Luxembourg, home of the private bank controlled by the businessman’s family.
Prince Andrew has been enjoying the triple comforts of the tycoon’s generosity for as long as anyone.
After one such trip on the £40 million jet owned by Tory donor Rowland, the son of a scrap merchant, Andrew was moved to rhapsody about its luxury.
Multimillionaire David Rowland paid off a £1.5 million loan for Prince Andrew (pictured together at Royal Ascot in 2006)
‘I have a completely different outlook on life and its possibilities now – whilst trying not to let it go to my head,’ he wrote to the property dealer’s son, Jonathan, adding, ‘Very difficult!’
Yesterday just how grateful he remains to the man who has a £600 million fortune was clear after it emerged that Mr Rowland had paid off a £1.5 million loan the Duke of York had taken out with his friend’s bank.
Andrew has been enmeshed with the wealthiest people in his life. This is a remarkable revelation.
They include the disgraced sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, over whom the Prince remains in legal limbo, to the Kazakh oligarch who paid £3 million over the asking price for the Prince’s former marital home, and David Rowland.
Video of the Jack Brooksbank Wedding, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank. Financier David Rowland is in the background. Kate Moss is to her right.
Of all the relationships, it’s the one with Mr Rowland that is most mysterious. He was one of the Conservative Party’s largest benefactors.
Their mutual friendship was very rewarding. Thanks to Andrew, ‘Spotty’ Rowland met the Queen at Balmoral and just three years ago he had one of the most prized front row seats – close to the Royal Family – at the Windsor wedding of Princess Eugenie.
Andrew is a good example of how to operate, getting along the very wealthy who enjoy the prestige and being around the ‘royals’. He also introduces them to his friends.
And in that regard Mr Rowland, who obtained his nickname after making his first £1 million aged just 23 and still suffering from adolescent skin problems, has certainly enjoyed the kudos.
Mr Rowland paid off a £1.5million loan Prince Andrew had taken out from Banque Havilland, which is owned by Mr Rowland
Andrew, who was visiting the property of the magnate on Guernsey’s tax haven, unveiled a bronze statue (in Churchillian pose complete with cigar) to mark the occasion.
And when Mr Rowland wanted a prominent figure to open a new branch of the Banque Havilland – the bank takes its name from his Guernsey estate – who else but Andrew was on hand to do the honours?
In his speech the prince lavished praise on Mr Rowland who at that time – in 2009 – had surrendered his tax exile status of four decades in order to donate money to the Tories.
He said, “I appreciate the initiative taken by an English family to invest outside of the United Kingdom’s borders.” It is only possible to expect great success from a team like this, which can transcend borders and cultural barriers.
“I have met and worked with the Rowland Family in the past. I wish them all success with this new venture.
Andrew’s address was received with rapturous applause by Mr Rowland.
This moment established a unlikely bond between men with very different backgrounds. They have much else in common.
Each has a different private life and they don’t like having their wealth scrutinized.
Andrew was still the UK’s trade ambassador at the time that their friendship was made public. He was also defending himself from accusations of having exploited his role in Central Asia, particularly the connections he made while on five-star, taxpayer-funded trips.
But according to Bloomberg, the financial news outlet, Andrew who had operated as ‘an unofficial door opener for Rowland and his family’ for more than a decade, opened a loan facility with Banque Havilland, which by March 2017 had been extended some ten times to a total of £1.25 million.
Luxembourg’s Banque Havilland SA Headquarters, located in the center of the affair.
In November of that year the loan was extended by a further £250,000 to cover the Prince’s ‘general working capital and living expenses’.
This loan sheds light on an issue that’s puzzled royal observers and the public for many years: How has Prince Charles managed such lavish living on Royal Navy pensions and allowances from the Queen?
Bloomberg claimed that internal documents leaked by Bloomberg suggested that employees had expressed concerns over the fact the unsecured mortgage was not in line with the bank’s risk appetite.
Bloomberg stated that Bloomberg also suggested in a credit application that the Queen could repay the loan, if her son cannot find the funds.
Less than two weeks after getting the increased loan, Bloomberg says, Mr Rowland wired £1.5 million to a UK Banque Havilland account belonging to Andrew.
For years, questions have been raised about the connections between the Rowland and Duke families. These disclosures only increase the doubts over possible conflicts that might be created by Rowland’s social circle. The Prince has been described several times as financial adviser by Mr Rowland (ranked 226th on Sunday Times Rich List).
Andrew made the controversial decision to let Jonathan, his son and businessman, accompany him to China on trade envoy trips to Saudi Arabia and China.
Andrew was reported to have travelled in the Rowlands’ 14-seater private jet on at least five occasions during official royal business. After one of these trips, he sent Jonathan Rowland a glowing email of gratitude.
The friendship dates at least to 2005 – the year of the statue unveiling. The visit revealed many things about the men involved.
Andrew was interested in breaking new ground. Members of the Royal Family usually visit Guernsey’s Government House. Andrew was with the Rowlands on this occasion.
According to the official explanation, “it was going be late night”. Havilland Hall can be found only 500 metres from Government House.
This newspaper published an eleven-year-old story about Andrew inviting his friend to Balmoral, where he met the Queen and was treated to lunch. He was also introduced to Prince Charles during that same trip.
Andrew gave a highly sought-after invitation to his youngest daughter’s St George’s Chapel wedding in 2018, however, to Spotty.
The links between the men were further entrenched when Mr Rowland paid £40,000 towards the debts run up by the Duchess of York after her business empire collapsed in 2010. At the same time the Duchess had accepted £15,000 from Jeffrey Epstein, which she later admitted had been a ‘gigantic error of judgement’.
After it was revealed that Mr Rowland and the Prince had flown together to Libya when Andrew met Colonel Gaddafi, further links were discovered.
Bloomberg stated last year that Andrew was a trade ambassador who helped the Rowland families ‘pitch their service to potential clients’.
But it is not just money that cemented their friendship – though Andrew is drawn with giddying propensity to the super rich. David Rowland, like the Duke of York who lives with his ex-wife has a somewhat unconventional approach to family life.
At 21 he got married and had his second child. When he divorced Sheila in 1985, he had already had a second son with another woman. Linda was his second wife. His first wife, Linda Rowland, was deeply involved in the family affairs.
Andrew was forced to step down as a public figure in the aftermath of the Epstein scandal. He has David Rowland, a publicist who is still there for him. He is often praised by his adversaries for this virtue.