Days later, one payment of £750,000 was made directly from Mrs Isbilen to the Duke, which she believed was a “gift” she had to pay for help with her passport. It is understood that Mrs Isbilen was also told by Mr Turk that the Duke would be able to help with the case of her husband, a politician who is imprisoned in Turkey.

Mr Turk and the Duke’s private office later told her bankers that the money was for a wedding gift for Princess Beatrice.

A transcript of phone calls obtained by The Telegraph shows Mr Turk telling an official from Mrs Isbilen’s private bank Hampden & Co on November 14, 2019, that the £750,000 payment is for Beatrice’s wedding.

In answer to a question from Stephen Buckland as to why the sum is so large, Mr Turk says: “Wedding – so basically wedding – so for the cost of the wedding” adding late in the conversation: “Wedding gift, so basically it’s a gift to the bride.”

In a separate call on the same day Mr Buckley asks Prince Andrew’s then legal adviser Amanda Thirsk to confirm whether the payment, which he describes as of an “unusual nature”, is a gift for the cost of the wedding or a gift to Princess Beatrice.