Royal biographer Robert Hardman describes Prince Andrew’s ‘arrogant and entitled’ behaviour at Buckingham Palace in his new book about Queen Elizabeth II
Andrew’s manners were appalling, the source said(Image: Karwai Tang, WireImagevia Getty Images)
Over time, as he has gown older, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has developed a reputation as one of the most unpleasant, ill-mannered, and privileged figures within the Royal Family. The former duke’s appalling behaviour was prominently displayed, according to royal biographer Robert Hardman, prior to an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
In his latest biography of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, currently being serialised in the Daily Mail, Robert interviewed multiple attendees from the occasion, including one who revealed: “We were walking across the quadrangle and suddenly this blue Bentley appeared and did a handbrake turn, throwing up gravel over other people’s cars.
“Someone said, ‘I bet that’s Andrew.’ And sure enough it was. And everyone was talking about it as we went in because it had just spoiled things. He lived at Buckingham Palace, whereas we were just the little people going in there for our big day. And he just had to make it all about him.”
Andrew’s presumption during that instance was far from an isolated occurrence, Robert notes. In his publication, he recounts an earlier episode at Windsor, when grooms from the Royal Mews had been exercising some of the Queen’s horses on the grounds. “One had waved a firm hand at an approaching car which was revving its engine aggressively,” Robert writes.
“It pulled alongside and, through the window, the Duke of York bellowed at her: ‘Who the f*** do you think you are?’ He then demanded her name. What’s more, he even took it up with the Queen — in person,” a former member of the Household recalled.
Robert Hardman collected the stories for his new book(Image: Getty)
Despite Andrew’s veiled threat, the groom faced no repercussions following the deeply upsetting encounter.
One insider told Robert that the very same qualities that made Andrew Her Majesty’s “favourite” son were, ultimately, the traits that earned him widespread contempt among Palace staff: “He’d been this wonderful baby after the ten-year gap with her older children.
“He wasn’t sensitive like King Charles III but, rather, had all the qualities that her husband had been — a straightforward, handsome naval officer. On the other hand, he was a seven-year-old who never grew up.”
His 22-year career in the Royal Navy, spanning from 1979 to 2001, seemed to offer some much-needed discipline in Andrew’s life: “We did press the Navy very hard to keep him on, but they couldn’t find a suitable role,” a senior royal aide subsequently told Robert.
People that have met Andrew say he’s very focused on his own status(Image: Getty)
Dickie Arbiter, who managed the late Queen’s public image for over a decade, says he is convinced that staff currently working in Buckingham Palace’s press office will feel relieved they no longer have to answer for “arrogant and entitled” Andrew. Dai Davies, who served as Operational Unit Commander overseeing Royal Protection for the Queen and the Royal Family during the mid-1990s, headed a team of around 450 police officers responsible for protecting senior royals both at home and abroad. He recalls most of those he protected as “perfectly pleasant.”
Much like Dickie Arbiter, he found his time working for the then-Prince and Princess of Wales a rewarding experience: “Charles was polite,” he said. “Diana — I liked her very much. When I started, she said to me, ‘You poor man — do you know what you’ve taken on?'”
Yet, in common with many former royal household staff, Dai has very little good to say about “rude and dismissive” Andrew.
Elizabeth II. In Private. In Public. The Inside Story, by Robert Hardman (Pan Macmillan, £22) is due to be published on 9 April.