It’s been seven months since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his titles by his brother, King Charles. But he is still trying to retain the trappings of royal life, according to royal sources
Just months into his royal exile, Andrew Mountbatten Windsor is refusing to accept his ‘humiliating’ status as a prince-turned-commoner.
Now living in a bog-ridden cottage world’s away from his 30-room mansion of Royal Lodge, and without his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson to keep him company, the disgraced ex-duke is said to be taking his frustrations out on his staff.
Sources suggest that Andrew is demanding that his three remaining employees still use his birthright titles, despite being stripped of them by his beleaguered older brother, King Charles.
It’s claimed that the former prince gave a jaw-dropping speech to staff, insisting that he will ‘damn well’ continue to be called by his ‘correct titles’ in his own home – until they ‘send a vampire to suck out every drop of royal blood in my veins’.
Seven months on from losing his royal titles, he still insists on being addressed by his staff as ‘Sir’ and referred to as ‘The Duke,’ according to the Daily Mail.
Andrew Lownie, a royal author and historian who spent years researching the inner world of the Yorks, believes he knows exactly who encouraged the former prince’s alleged rant behind closed doors.
Speaking to the Mirror, the author says that according to his source, Andrew is likely “doing that to big himself up in front of the Middle Eastern guys, who are saying, ‘Don’t be such a wimp. You’re a prince and nothing can take that away from you.’
“He’s still doing business in the Middle East,” Lownie claims. “He has no sense of his own status except through this, but I think that it’s the Middle Eastern rulers who stiffen the sinews a bit.”
On whether the ex-duke is looking for revenge or a way back, Lownie says: “It would certainly fit with his character. I think he feels that he’s been thrown to the wolves.
“He’s always been very loyal to the institution, but he didn’t like Camilla. He was rude about Kate. Anyone who’s rumbled him, he doesn’t like. I think it’s only two allies at the moment are Edward and Anne.”
Far from being humbled by his reduced situation, the former duke reportedly retains an extraordinary level of entitlement. He lost the majority of his staff after being booted out of Royal Lodge – and was said to have been insulted when the King offered him use of a Sandringham cleaner, groundsman and cook on an ad hoc basis – with a source saying at the time: “It hasn’t gone down well”.
In Entitled, Lownie’s explosive biography on the Yorks, a source is quoted as saying: “Remember, the most difficult thing for the Duke of York was not the allegations of sexual misconduct. It was being stripped of his royal titles and losing his key role with the Royal Family. He’s never gotten over this.”
Andrew was also said to be appalled that ‘poky’ Marsh Farm only has five bedrooms; in contrast, Royal Lodge has seven bedrooms within the main mansion. “He really didn’t want Marsh Farm,” a source told the Mail. “He won’t have lived anywhere that small since he left his apartment at Buckingham Palace.”
In reality, many of Andrew’s former staff were likely happy to move on from his employ. For years, he has been dogged by rumours about his reputation behind closed doors, described by sources as being both arrogant and entitled, with allegations he would bully and humiliate staff. He is also alleged to have made bizarre requests of royal employees, and would reportedly ‘scream and shout’ if they were not followed through.
In his biography, Lownie quotes one former equerry for the Queen Mother describing Andrew as a “rude, ignorant sod”. The book also claims that Andrew insisted maids in his home climb four floors of stairs just to open his curtains for him in the morning – whilst he lay right beside them.
A source is quoted as saying: “His bedtime habits as a single man left a lot to be desired, and a collection of scrunched-up, soiled tissues usually lay scattered around the bed each morning for staff to collect after they had made his bed.”
On one further occasion, Andrew is said to have brought a television technical worker to his royal home in the middle of the night, insisting the technician explain how the remote worked.
The disgraced ex-duke reportedly jetted off on an all-expenses-paid trip to France recently, courtesy of a billionaire pal from the UAE.
It’s claimed that Andrew was invited by horse breeding tycoon Mohammed A Baker to stay at his acclaimed stud farm set in a rural location close to St Malo in north-west France at the end of May.
The former prince is said to have travelled to Dinard Airport from Norwich International by private jet, paid for by Mr Baker on Saturday May 30, spending three days at the remote stable complex, before returning on the evening of Monday June 1.
During his ‘relaxing’ trip abroad, Andrew reportedly rode horses on a French beach, played boules in an historic courtyard and was lavishly entertained with meals prepared by a private chef.