A former Foreign Office diplomat has spoken out about the five times he met Prince Andrew – and he has not held back in his assessment of the disgraced royal
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was once a trade envoy for the British Government (Image: Paul Kane, Getty Images)
A former Foreign Office diplomat has spoken about his five encounters with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, revealing one “uncomfortable” trait that was immediately apparent.
The disgraced former prince served as a government trade envoy between 2001 and 2011, a role which brought him into contact with Simon Wilson, who served as deputy ambassador to Bahrain from 2001 to 2005.
Reflecting on his dealings with the late Queen’s son, Simon said: “I have to say I was a little bit surprised about how sort of cocky he was.”
He recalled that there was considerable optimism when Andrew first took on the unpaid trade envoy position, with those within the Foreign Office confident it would help forge connections with Gulf royal families.
However, according to Simon, things “started to go wrong from the word go”. He told 60 Minutes Australia: “We started to get reams of instructions about his likes and dislikes in terms of food, that he didn’t drink, alcohol, tea or coffee, but would drink still water, room temperature, no ice.
Simon believes Andrew’s staff were often ‘walking on eggshells’ (Image: Jordan Pettitt – Pool/Getty Images)
“One thing that was noticeable, which I didn’t encounter with any other visit of a royal family, they always went very smoothly anyway, was that his staff seemed to be petrified of him.”
He noted this was particularly striking, as in his experience dealing with the private secretaries of other senior members of the Royal Family, they were invariably “very proud” to be working in their respective roles.
Simon recalled that while those individuals relished overseas travel, Andrew’s staff presented a very different picture, adding: “You really got the impression that they were really uncomfortable all the time, treading on eggshells, didn’t want to put a food wrong and of course that transferred in the wider picture to us, the embassy who were organising things, we were treading on eggshells.”
Simon noted that despite the role being unpaid, Andrew travelled with a sizeable entourage who all required remuneration.
Andrew during a visit to New York (Image: Getty)
He further alleged that the former prince flatly refused to fly on commercial airlines, even in first class, demanding private jets instead.
The former diplomat also claimed that Andrew shunned the ambassadorial residences, which were available at no cost, opting instead for the most luxurious hotels on the island.
Simon admitted he was “surprised” that Andrew retained the position for a decade, given that “so much went wrong” during his tenure.
Having helped coordinate three visits for Andrew, Simon recently told the i Paper that he was “rude and arrogant”, before disclosing an unflattering nickname used behind closed doors. He said: “The term ‘His Buffoon Highness’ was used among diplomats.”