Sean Diddy Combs has pushed back through his representatives against explosive claims that he conducted a secret friends with benefits relationship with Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York.

The allegation appears in Entitled, a new book by royal biographer Andrew Lownie. Drawing on unnamed sources, Lownie writes that Combs and Ferguson first met at a 2002 party hosted by Ghislaine Maxwell, and that by 2004 they had embarked on what one source described as a clandestine friends with benefits arrangement that allegedly lasted for years.

According to an excerpt published in the British press, Lownie claims the pair met in ultra-luxury hotel suites costing up to 50,000 dollars a night, and that Combs allegedly boasted in crude terms about his encounters with Ferguson. The book further alleges that the music mogul was fascinated by the royal family and became fixated on the Duchess.

A representative for Combs, who is currently serving a prison sentence on federal charges unrelated to the book’s claims, has dismissed the story outright. Speaking to UK media, the spokesperson called the allegations utterly ridiculous gossip and suggested they were a distraction from far more serious issues dominating public life.

Ferguson has also moved quickly to distance herself from the narrative. A source close to the Duchess told one newspaper that she categorically denies any romantic or sexual relationship with Combs, branding the account absolute fabricated nonsense and blatantly untrue. The source accused Lownie of making yet another false allegation about her private life.

Lownie, however, is standing firm. He insists his reporting is based on multiple independent sources, including former employees of both Combs and Ferguson. I stand by it, he said, adding that he has no doubts about his sources.

The book goes further, alleging that Ferguson introduced Combs to her daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and even took a then 16 year old Eugenie to one of the rapper’s famously hedonistic parties. A royal staff member quoted in the book describes the events as wild and claims colleagues were alarmed that a teenage princess was brought into that environment.

One former Bad Boy Records employee is cited as saying Combs was obsessed with the royals and allegedly remarked that he could not wait until Ferguson’s daughters came of age. The book also claims his fragrance Unforgivable was inspired by Ferguson’s reported preferences in how a man should smell.