Prince Andrew's warped life behind closed doors - 'humiliating staff, sex demands and pranks'
Renewed scrutiny on Prince Andrew has led to the disgraced royal voluntarily giving up the use of his title, the Duke of York, but his fall from grace has been a long time coming according to royal sources
In a shock statement last week, Prince Andrew announced he will be voluntarily giving up the use of his royal titles and honours, as renewed scrutiny on scandals surrounding the King's disgraced brother have become a "distraction" from the work of the Royal Family.
Andrew has vehemently denied the allegations made against him by the late Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually assaulting her three times when she was a teenager. Giuffre's posthumous memoir - released today - paints a bleak picture of her experiences as a victim of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, and includes claims that she was pregnant and lost a baby four days after being participating in an "orgy" with Andrew, Epstein, and eight other teenage girls.
Whether the public will be satisfied with the symbolic gesture of Andrew relinquishing his use of his title remains to be seen. The Met have confirmed they are "actively" looking into the royal after an email emerged which appears to show that Andrew asked his police bodyguard to find dirt about his accuser in 2011, providing the officer with her social security number and date of birth. It has not been suggested that the police protection officer did so after Andrew's request.
But behind closed doors, insiders have claimed to have long known Andrew to be problematic. From allegations of bullying and humiliating staff, claims of deeply entitled and strange behaviour, and his attitude towards women - the Mirror takes a look at Andrew's allegedly warped private life and bizarre personality.
'Entitled requests to staff'
An explosive biography delving into the lives of Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson released earlier this year made a series of claims about the ex duke's treatment of royal staff, and the bizarre requests he would make of them.
One source told author Andrew Lownie that Andrew's attitude was that his staff were "there to serve and not to question his actions" and that he allegedly made extravagant demands from them.
According to the book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, this included insisting that the 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 also claimed: "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 occasion, Andrew is said to have brought a television technical worker to his royal home in the middle of the night, insisting the technician explained how the remote worked.
A former equerry for the Queen Mother said that he found Andrew to be a "rude, ignorant sod" who allegedly barked demands on. regular basis. They claimed that "Do it!" became "his catchphrase of sorts."
This was in stark contrast to how the equerry was treated by the Queen Mother or King Charles, who saw her staff as "human beings."
Andrew is also alleged to have used his highly trained police protection officers to collect his used golf balls.
Dangerous driving a 'favourite game'
Lownie's book claims that Andrew regularly undertook huge risks when it came to driving, playing a "favourite game" with his long-suffering protection officers by taking off at high-speed, forcing them to take unnecessary risks to keep up with him, as they were obliged to be with him at all times.
Andrew would "insist on driving himself and then try and lose the back-up protection car by speeding up the motorway and suddenly turning off onto a side road," the book alleges.
In 2002, Andrew was caught speeding, but refused to get out of the car, declaring, "I'm in a hurry" and leaving his bodyguard to deal with the police - he was reportedly not given the minimum fine or penalty points.
Later, in 2009, lodge keepers at Windsor Great Park signed a petition to the late Queen asking her to do something about Andrew's tendency to speed in his Aston Martin, "forcing them to leap out of the way as he zooms past".
In 2016, the sensor gates in Windsor Great Park were not working, so he rammed them with his Range Rover, causing "thousands of pounds worth of damage" instead of taking a short detour.
"He has a bit of a reputation for roaring around like Toad of Toad Hall and seems to think he can do what he likes," one royal staff member was quoted as saying.
'Invading personal space and inappropriate jokes'
Andrew has a reputation for not understanding social etiquette, Lownie's book claims, quoting many who met him at parties or during the course of his work as a trade envoy for the UK.
After complaining extensively to Boris Johnson when he was Mayor of London over lunch on one occasion, and then sticking his tongue out at him when Johnson pushed back, the former Mayor is quoted as saying dining with Andrew was "enough to drive someone to republicanism".
During an important lecture in Indonesia in 2013, Andrew is alleged to have made crass jokes about urinating himself, to the shock of those in attendance.
One ambassador who crossed paths with him during his time as trade envoy said of Andrew, "I found him weird. He invaded one's personal space, would rant, and was unable to read a room. He behaved like a teenager".
Petronella Wyatt, a journalist, was also quoted as discussing Andrew's inappropriate sense of humour, saying "He was as charming as a bull in a china shop".
'Requesting attractive women'
As trade envoy, Andrew is alleged to have liked attractive women to be brought to his events, Lownie's book claims, leaving one diplomat seemingly disgusted.
"Many speak of how Andrew's staff often requested that attractive women be invited to events," Lownie writes, alleging, "with a private secretary specifying, 'He likes blondes', to which one consul replied, 'I’m a diplomat, not a pimp.'"
Andrew is alleged to have slept with over 1000 women during his life, from Playboy bunnies to political figures, but he expected them to come to him, rarely pursuing women he met.
"Sure, he's a good-looking fellow and a shocking flirt, but he's not a hunter of women. To be honest, he rather expects them to come to him but when they do, he shows himself to be bone idle and not very socially adept at chatting them up," one family friend was quoted as saying.
Bullying staff claims
Andrew is said to have bullied staff on multiple occasions, according to Lownie's book, allegedly even calling one royal aide a "f**king imbecile" after he used the wrong title for the Queen Mother.
Andrew is alleged to have been very particular about the proper mode of address, and would insist everyone bowed to him when he came into a room. If they failed to do so, he would apparently say, "Let's try that again" - leaving the room and re-entering.
The royal is alleged to have had one aide removed from his role because Andrew didn't like the appearance of a mole on the man's face, and another for "wearing a nylon tie". He is said to have reduced staff to tears, and "After Meghan Markle was accused of bullying staff, Buckingham Palace braced itself for historic complaints about the duke's bullying, profanities and impossible demands."
'Serial sex addict'
One former lover of Andrew's was quoted as saying that Andrew had "no boundaries" in the bedroom. "He wanted me to engage in kinky sexual activity. He had no boundaries. He told me he had an open marriage arrangement with his wife," said the woman, who was at the time 20 years old and worked as a model.
"After returning to London, I never heard from him again. I felt like he used me for a few days, so he could live his wildest fantasies."
In 2007, convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein reportedly said of Andrew, who he dubbed one of his "closest friends in the world," that the King's brother was a "serial sex addict".
It is claimed that Andrew also repeatedly would insist on staying in hotels rather than at embassies - costing the taxpayer more money - while working as a trade envoy. And on one occasion, his antics are said to have caused major shock to hotel staff in Thailand.
The royal was in the country for the Thai King's Diamond Jubilee, and is alleged to have had as many as 40 women visiting his room whilst he was there. "Often, as soon as one left, another would arrive," a source claimed in Lownie's book.
Another royal expert, Tom Sykes, has echoed this allegation, writing, "My sources have confirmed Lownie's account of Andrew's industrial-scale sexual consumption, carried out under the auspices of royal diplomacy with the full apparatus of the British state behind him."
He added that one source who spoke to him even claimed that Andrew saw "access to a revolving door of female bodies as part of the perks of office" and that he and another unnamed dignitary would send "girls to each other via luxury car services in a horrific power play masquerading as a twisted mark of respect."
Bizarre childish pranks
Andrew has a penchant for pranks, the book claims, many of which humiliated whoever was on the receiving end.
The author writes that the Duke would force party guests to close their eyes with outstretched hands, before getting them to clap - unbeknownst to them that there was an open tube of mustard in their hands, leaving them with the condiment over their faces.
He is also alleged to have pushed a dinner companion's face into their meal, and unzipped a woman's dress the whole way down during a society event.
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