EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATION: We Reveal FOUR-YEAR Quest to Uncover the Murky Truth About Pedophile Scandal-Hit Prince Andrew's Finances — And How It Was Almost Stonewalled

We can finally reveal how shamed royal Prince Andrew raked in millions in cash from "shady" businessmen.

And the British government tried to block attempts to dig deeper into the hermit prince’s murky financial affairs and those of his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Andrew Lownie – author of The Controversial Lives of the Duke and Duchess of York – spent four years researching and writing the book, which we have seen, on Andrew's cash sources, as the duke remains frozen out of the royal family over his links to fallen financier Jeffrey Epstein – yet is still somehow holed up in a 32-room lodge at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom.

Lownie said: "Having spent the last four years researching a biography of the Duke of York, I have always maintained that the real issue surrounding him is financial and not sexual. Extensive column inches have been devoted to his association with Jeffrey Epstein, but far less attention is paid to how the duke has been able to finance his extravagant lifestyle.

"This has become an even more pressing question with the debate on whether he can afford to stay in Royal Lodge and recent revelations about his business activities. Yet getting anywhere close to the bottom of Prince Andrew’s finances, as I have been trying to do for some time, is a fraught and fiendishly complex business."

The writer added his attempts to uncover the truth about Andrew's money sources came up against huge stone-walling by officials at the heart of the British establishment.

Lownie added: "Andrew’s finances are a longstanding issue and there has often been speculation about how he could afford to live in the 32-room Royal Lodge, to buy a Swiss chalet for $23million and to acquire a collection of luxury watches, including several Rolexes, pieces from Cartier, and a Patek Philippe watch worth almost $200,000. He is also known to have a love for expensive cars, including a $300,000 Bentley and a succession of Range Rovers."

Lownie went on: "Though Andrew has inherited substantial monies through royal family trusts, in his youth he was always kept on a tight financial rein. While boarding at Gordonstoun he was reported to have envied the wealth of fellow pupils, such as the children of Stavros Niarchos and Sean Connery.

"During his 20-year career in the Royal Navy, he had few opportunities to make money but that all changed after Tony Blair appointed him as special representative on leaving the service in 2001. It was an appointment that his elder brother Charles counselled against and even at the time politicians raised concerns that Andrew might abuse his public position for private gain.

"Shortly after his appointment, the duke met the billionaire David Rowland, who was developing his Luxembourg-based private bank, Banque Havilland, aimed at rich clients who might not easily find banking facilities, and a business partnership was forged."

Lownie concluded: "Researching Andrew is a remarkably difficult process. There should be thousands of publicly available files relating to his time as special representative for the decade up to 2011.

"It is clear that obstructions have been placed in front of Andrew. One has to ask why."

The author also added: “Rowland was once described as a ‘shady financier’ on the floor of the House of Commons and in 2010 his attempt to become Conservative Party treasurer foundered after press revelations about his business dealings.

“The Rowlands and Andrew regularly attended each other’s parties and were guests at each other’s houses. David Rowland stayed at Balmoral and had tea with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles in the summer of 2010.”