Prince Andrew had a £1.5million bank loan repaid by firms linked to a wealthy businessman while he was still a working member of the royal family, according to reports.

The Duke of York’s debt with tiny-Luxembourg based Banque Havilland SA was apparently arranged to be cleared by David Rowland, a prominent Conservative Party donor.

Andrew, known for his lavish lifestyle, first opened the account in 2015 and borrowed on average £125,000 every three months, Bloomberg reported.

He extended the loan ten times and applied for a further £250,000 in November 2017 for ‘general working and living expenses’.

This took the total borrowed to £1.5million which was then cleared just 11 days later when the full amount was wired into the account.

Documents show the money was routed through a Banque Havilland account belonging to Albany Reserves Ltd, which lists Mr Rowland as a director.

The duke – who at the time received a £250,000 stipend from the Queen – has not had a proper paid job since leaving the royal navy in 2001.

It is thought he is still being helped financially by his mother despite stepping back from royal duties due to his association with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Questions have often been asked over how Andrew could afford to live like a millionaire and own expensive houses and cars such as the £220,000 Bentley he was seen driving after Prince Philip’s funeral.

The duke has helped Banque Havilland, which is owned by the Rowland family, several times over the years including opening its first ever branch in Luxembourg in 2009 – when he was working as the Government’s special representative for international trade and investment.

Staff were apparently reluctant to sanction the loan because it was ‘not in line with the risk appetite of the bank’, a credit application seen by Bloomberg stated.

But it was approved because of it could open up ‘further business potential with the royal family’.

The report said: ‘While the (increased) loan is unsecured and granted solely against the credibility of the applicant, both his position and that his mother is the sovereign monarch of the United Kingdom should provide access to funds for repayment if need be.’

The revelations have raised further questions about Andrew’s business dealings and people he associated with while still a working royal.

Members of the royal family should not accept gifts which ‘would, or might appear to, place (them) under any obligation to the donor, according to Buckingham Palace’s code of conduct.

At the time the loan was repaid, regulators were carrying out an unconnected investigation into Banque Havilland for not doing enough to protect against money laundering, which eventually led to a 4 million euro fine.

A spokesman for Andrew declined to comment to Bloomberg about the transactions but said the duke is ‘entitled to a degree of privacy in conducting his entirely legitimate, personal financial affairs, on which all appropriate accounting measures are undertaken and all taxes duly paid’.

Banque Havilland declined to comment while Mr Rowland did not respond.

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