Koo then explains that the press discovered they would be holidaying in Mustique and the couple landed to find themselves amidst a paparazzi storm.
“We landed in Mustique and immediately found ourselves subjected to a frenzy of media attention.
“We had managed to be together for about a year-and-a-half before we were discovered, and the point at which we were finally exposed and hounded by the press was rather emotional for both of us.
“We carried on despite the attention and there was, from that point, a bounty on my head,” she says.
Defending the prince
Despite ending their relationship, Koo and the prince remained close friends. When Andrew was accused of keeping an “underage sex slave” in 2015, it was Koo who rushed to his defence.
“Prince Andrew is a dear friend of mine and godfather to my daughter. I’ve only known him to be honourable and honest, with Christian values. I dismissed this latest story as just another sexual slur to add to the list of criticisms of him in recent years,” Koo wrote in a piece for The Mail on Sunday in 2015.
“My first reaction was fury, then disbelief at the lurid allegations being made against a man I have known for more than 30 years.”
Koo also detailed time with Andrew, describing their instantaneous connection and the speed with which she became his girlfriend, explaining that the months that followed were “some of the happiest memories I have of my life.”
Koo went on to describe Andrew as “a nice man, a tender, loving, caring and normal boyfriend”.
However, the American admitted that they were seen as somewhat of an unusual couple, given Koo’s preference to abstain from alcohol and practice yoga – a trend not yet fashionable in the 1980’s – a habit that rubbed off on Prince Andrew.
“Andrew adopted the practices he found useful for his health and I never minded being considered eccentric for standing on my head!” she admitted.
“He’s a man whose efforts have been – unfairly – more often met with criticism than praise.”
For more, see this week's New Idea - out now.