As the Duke of York, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor left a very poor impression on the Buckingham Palace staff that worked for him – while MPs are moving to remove him from the line of succession
Despite being stripped of his titles and honours, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the late Queen Elizabeth’s scandal-prone son, has always steadfastly denied the accusations of sexual impropriety and misconduct in public office that have been levelled against him.
But there are some claims that he will find harder to shake off – the withering assessments of those who worked most closely with him when he was still the monarch’s “favourite” son.
Dickie Arbiter, for example, who carefully managed the late Queen’s public image for over a decade, is still a staunch defender of most of the royals. He describes King Charles as “good to work for”, saying that, as Prince of Wales, Charles would often work deep into the night on his various royal duties.
Former journalist Dickie was impressed, too, by the King’s first wife. He recalls with fondness how Princess Diana thoughtfully arranged a 50th birthday party for him in September 1990. “That was the sort of person she was,” he says.
But the one-time media spokesman for the Royal Family told The i newspaper that he’s sure the people working in Buckingham Palace’s press office today will be relieved that they don’t have to answer for “arrogant and entitled” Andrew any longer.
Dai Davies was Operational Unit Commander in charge of Royal Protection for HM Queen Elizabeth and the Royal Family through the mid-1990s. He commanded a force of around 450 highly-trained police officers who were responsible for protecting the senior royals throughout the UK and worldwide.
Most of his charges, he recalls, were “perfectly pleasant.” Like Dickie Arbiter, he found the then-Prince and Princess of Wales a pleasure to work for: “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?’”
But like so many former royal employees, Dai has few kind words for “rude and dismissive” Andrew:
Dai recalled how the Duke of York, as he then was, had telephoned him about a security matter and insisted on being put through to his boss. Dai had to explain to the impatient prince that he was the most senior person in the chain of command: “I found him boorish and ignorant,” he said.
Colin Burgess, who worked as equerry to the late Queen Mother for several years, revealed to royal biographer Andrew Lownie how the ex-prince had nearly pushed him beyond breaking point: “I remember nearly telling him where to go when he came into Clarence House and wanted something wrapped,” he said.
“He looked at me and barked: ‘You, wrap that!’ and pointed to some object. I just thought, you rude, ignorant sod, and felt like decking him.”
These unforgiving descriptions of Andrew are not just idle work gossip. In a parliamentary debate last month, trade minister Chris Bryant described the former UK Trade Envoy as a “rude, arrogant and entitled man”, while Lib Dem Leader Ed Davey added: “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has shamed our country and the Royal Family.”
Turning to the issue of Andrew’s formal removal from the royal line of succession, MP Luke Taylor pointed out that when the pictures of Andrew and his sex offender friend Jeffrey Epstein walking together in New York were published in 2011, the King’s brother was fourth in line to the throne.
“At the time that that scandal was occurring, he was so close to the throne. It’s disgusting,” he said, adding, “I’m going to ask the minister specifically if he can give us an update on legislation that the government might bring forward to remove Andrew from the line of succession.”
