The late Queen’s former press secretary Dickie Arbiter has revealed that he was told he could be fired for what he said to the-then Prince Andrew, who he describes as being rude and “bumptious”
10:56, 03 Nov 2025Updated 11:31, 03 Nov 2025
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has been stripped of his titles(Image: GETTY)
For more than a decade, Dickie Arbiter served as the trusted press spokesman for Queen Elizabeth II. Throughout the years, he encountered the late monarch’s “favourite” son, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, on multiple occasions, and has delivered a scathing assessment of the disgraced Royal.
Describing the former prince as a “bully,” Dickie revealed that his role didn’t require extensive interaction with Andrew. He explained: “On the odd occasion that I did have dealings with him, he was arrogant, he was rude, and he was bumptious.”
Dickie maintains he was amongst the few Royal staff members who challenged the frequently reported bullying allegations.
He remembered receiving a cautionary word from another Palace official, recounting: “I was once told by a colleague ‘Speaking to him like that, you’ll get fired’ and I said, “No, he won’t. He won’t tell anyone. Bullies don’t tell anybody’.”
The former press secretary told Times Radio that he felt no shock whatsoever that King Charles had acted to remove his younger sibling’s various titles and honours. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said. “This has been going on since 2019, since that disastrous Newsnight interview.”
Dickie worked at the Palace from 1988 until 2000(Image: PA)
The initial publication of Andrew Lownie’s damning exposé of the House of York, coupled with the late Virginia Guiffre’s devastating memoir Nobody’s Girl, have brought increasingly serious allegations regarding Andrew’s behaviour into public view. The former Duke of York has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Dickie believes it was crucial to shield the monarchy from any hint of scandal. “It really was a duty that the King had to push forward,” he said.
In mid-October, Andrew voluntarily relinquished many of his titles, including Duke of York, stating that the “continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family”.
However, last week the King took further action, “initiating a formal process” to strip Andrew of all his titles, even the title of prince, which he has held since birth.
The King took decisive action to protect the monarchy(Image: AP)
“His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew,” Buckingham Palace announced in a statement late on Thursday.”
Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. “The same statement clarified that “formal notice’ had been given to evict the 65 year old former prince – henceforth known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor – from his cherished Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate.
“Royal historian Kelly Swaby told the BBC that the specific language used in Buckingham Palace’s statement was “very brutal”.
She said the words had been carefully selected: “Ordinary people don’t care about the semantics, they want to see punishment, and public opinion is very much against Andrew, the Palace knows that, and the language very much reflects that. “
Andrew and Sarah divorced in 1996 but continued to live together for most of the three decades since(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
In a final blow, the former Duke of York was stripped of his honorary rank of vice-admiral just a week after losing his Royal title of prince.
In return for the Royal Lodge, it’s understood that the King has offered a smaller property on the Sandringham estate to his brother, and is believed to be providing him with a regular annual allowance of £1,000,000.
While the removal of his titles takes effect immediately, Mr Mountbatten Windsor isn’t expected to relocate to the new property until after Christmas, meaning he won’t be present at Sandringham for the traditional Royal Family gathering.
Andrew’s ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, 66, who had been residing in another part of the expansive Royal Lodge, is now expected to arrange her own accommodation.