British public servants who worked with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor when he was a government trade envoy are now claiming the former prince billed taxpayers for massages.
He was appointed to the globe-trotting position in 2001, a post he held for 10 years while drumming up business and investment for the UK.
Mountbatten-Windsor racked up sky-high expenses while performing the role, a former trade department official told the BBC.
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"I thought it was wrong … I'd said we mustn't pay it, but we ended up paying it anyway," the now-retired public servant told the public broadcaster.
Speaking anonymously, he claimed he rejected the bill for "massage services" but was overruled by his superiors.
"I can't say it would have stopped him, but we should have flagged that something was wrong."
The claims have been supported by another source who worked as a senior public servant in the UK government.
He said Mountbatten-Windsor's extravagant spending included unreasonable numbers of hotel rooms to house his entourage.
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"I couldn't believe it … it was like it wasn't real money, they weren't spending any of their own money," he said.
The upper echelon of the public service either simply gave the former prince's spending claims a "rubber stamp" instead of scrutinising them, he said.
UK police arrested Mountbatten-Windsor last Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office before being released without charge as the investigation continues.
He has been accused of sharing confidential trade documents with convicted sex offender and disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Emails released by the US Department of Justice as part of the Epstein files appear to show Mountbatten-Windsor forwarding reports of official trade visits with Epstein.
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