Prince Andrew stayed at Bahamas home of Hugh Hefner of Canada who paid to settle sex harassment complaints

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Prince Andrew stayed at the Bahamas home of a fashion mogul who paid to settle allegations of sexual harassment, it has emerged.

The Duke of York reportedly stayed at a Mayan-style mansion owned by Peter Nygard, 78, known as the “Hugh Hefner of Canada”, after he had been accused of misconduct by three different women.

Prince Andrew is reported to have stayed at the Bahamas home of a fashion mogul who faced multiple allegations of sexual harassment

Peter Nygard, 78, known as the ‘Hugh Hefner of Canada’, paid to settle allegations from three different woman

Andrew is reported to have stated at Nygard’s sprawling complex in the Bahamas

Nygard, worth a reported 1.3bn, runs women’s clothing company Nygard International, and was the subject of the allegations in the 1990s.

He has always denied any wrongdoing, and says his company settled to avoid the costs involved with litigation.

His lawyers claimed the women had made the allegations as part of an attempt to secure better severance pay.

Nygard later said: “In hindsight, we should have fought it, but that’s hindsight.”

An article published in June 2000 in the Chicago Tribune said that, weeks earlier, Prince Andrew had stayed at Nygard’s property with then-wife Sarah Ferguson.

The mansion is located in the exclusive Lyford Cay neighbourhood on the Bahamanian island of New Providence, and features 12 themed luxury huts, a helipad, and a casino.

The Duke announced this week he would be standing down from royal duties after a widely-criticised BBC interview addressing his long-time friendship with late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

‘MADE SEXUAL ADVANCES AND FONDLED HIMSELF’

The allegations against Nygard were made in the 1990s by three former female employees.

One, a 27-year-old travel coordinator, alleged she had “repeatedly brushed off My Nygard’s touches and sexual advances”, the Winnipeg Free Press reported.

A 39-year-old communications manager said that, when called into Nygard’s office, she would “find him in a state of undress (pants open, no shirt) or with his hands down the front of his pants fondling himself”.

She also claimed he once added naked swimming to the agenda of a business meeting and that, while in the Bahamas, “frequently was grabbing himself (wearing a very small bathing suit)”.

In 1980, the Winnipeg Free Press also reported that Nygard had been charged with the rape of an 18-year-old, though the charges were later dropped after the woman involved declined to testify at a preliminary hearing.

Nygard denies any wrongdoing in relation to any of the claims.

Among other famous names reported to have stayed at the Bahamanian complex are President George H.W. Bush, Oprah Winfrey, and Michael Jackson.

The complex is also the focus of an ongoing legal case against Nygard, who is alleged to have illegally dredged the sea floor surrounding it and built on Crown land as part of an expansion.

Earlier this week, he was sentenced in his absence to 90 days in prison and a $150,000 (117,000) fine after breaching a court order prohibiting the disclosure of stolen e-mails.

Nygard is currently in Canada and claims to be too ill to travel, but has instructed his lawyers to file and urgent appeal of the decision.

Andrew announced this week he would be standing down from royal duties after a BBC interview addressing his long-time friendship with late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein

Nygard runs women’s clothing company Nygard International and is worth a reported 1.3bn

The complex is located in the exclusive Lyford Cay neighbourhood on the Bahamanian island of New Providence