Inside Prince Andrew’s fall from randy heartthrob to national disgrace & how he’s loyal to the King despite feud

IT whitethorn beryllium hard for young radical to ideate close present but 4 decades agone Prince Andrew was a nationalist heartthrob.

Even earlier helium won fame arsenic a Falklands War leader Navy chopper aviator successful 1982, the Duke of York - Randy Andy to galore - was the nation’s favourite antheral royal, a antheral susceptible of sending a frisson of excitement done a barroom oregon edifice erstwhile helium walked successful with his entourage and 1 of a drawstring of glamorous girlfriends.

The opposition betwixt past and present could not beryllium sharper.

Andrew, 64, is the nation’s pantomime villain, a disgraced fig who sealed his ain destiny with a disastrous television interrogation that made him an planetary laughing stock.

But, arsenic the spotlight falls connected Andrew again with a caller three-part Prime Video play - A Very Royal Scandal, starring Michael Sheen - astir his ill-fated Newsnight interrogation 5 years ago, what’s helium truly like? It depends who you speech to. 

Friends overgarment a representation of a devoted household antheral who is loyal to his pals. “I’ve seen him moved by the plight of idiosyncratic and past instantly spell astir his affluent friends and rise £1 cardinal to help,” 1 said a fewer years ago.

It was his loyalty to Jeffrey Epstein, the Duke would argue, that got him into this mess.

Andrew, who inactive denies claims helium had enactment with young women procured for him by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell contempt reaching an out-of-court colony with one, refused to godforsaken his millionaire person aft helium was embroiled successful scandal.

That volition not lavation with the nationalist but helium inactive has his defenders.

One person described Andrew, who was 2nd successful enactment to the throne erstwhile helium was born, arsenic fiercely loyal to his member the King, saying. “I person ne'er heard him accidental thing antagonistic astir his member oregon so immoderate subordinate of his family. It’s conscionable not thing helium would do.”

But others who person worked for oregon with him picture the precocious Queen’s 2nd and favourite lad arsenic rude, thick, oregon pampered.

Foul mouth

His rudeness to police protecting him and to palace servants is legendary.

In 2003 Ryan Parry, an undercover newsman astatine Buckingham Palace, told however erstwhile a footman went into Andrew’s chamber to unfastened his curtains and woke him saying: “Good greeting Your Royal Highness”,  the Duke of York replied: “F**k off.”

In his publication Courtiers, writer Valentine Low recounted however Andrew told 1 royal aide: “F**k disconnected retired of my bureau and f**k disconnected retired of my life.”

Diplomats accused him of boorishness erstwhile helium was the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, a occupation that helped gain him the nickname Air Miles Andy, on with his fondness for taking chopper trips to golf clubs.

Some besides alleged that erstwhile helium was trying to merchantability his erstwhile home, Sunninghill Park, helium utilized authoritative overseas trips to effort to find a affluent buyer.

Simon Wilson, Britain’s erstwhile lawman caput of ngo successful Bahrain, complained the Duke jokingly accused his wife, who looked similar Andrew’s ex-wife Fergie, of touching him up.

He told 1 insubstantial successful 2010: “HRH the Duke of York was much commonly known among the British diplomatic assemblage successful the Gulf arsenic HBH: His Buffoon Highness.

“This nickname stemmed from his childish obsession with doing precisely the other of what had been agreed successful pre-visit meetings with his staff.”

Mr Wilson added: “He appeared to respect himself arsenic an adept successful each matter… Colleagues enactment this down to an inferiority analyzable astir being mentally challenged.”

Heirs and graces

Sir Ivor Roberts, a erstwhile ambassador to Italy, Yugoslavia and Ireland, told however Andrew “rubbed radical up the incorrect way” connected a travel to Italy.

“He met a typical from an highly fashionable manner house, Schiapelli, and asked who she was. ‘Never heard of you’, helium replied.

“Andrew was afloat of his ain self-importance and determination was a batch of lasting connected ceremony,” helium said.

Palace officials, speaking connected information of anonymity, person been hardly much complimentary. 

One elder royal adjutant recovered Andrew truthful lacking successful self-awareness that determination was nary anticipation of trying to explicate to him that his behaviour was damaging the monarchy. 

Some recovered it frustrating that his parent Queen Elizabeth was for truthful agelong ever consenting to springiness him a 2nd accidental and, adjacent aft helium was forced to basal backmost from authoritative duties successful the aftermath of the Newsnight interview, agreed for him to get with her astatine Westminster Abbey astatine a nationalist thanksgiving work for the beingness of Prince Philip successful March 2022.

Others successful the household were furious but had to spell on with it. It was her decision, contempt their opposition, and they feared the effect of portraying the Queen arsenic an enfeebled aged woman who had been manipulated by her son.

'Pantomime figure'

One adjacent adjutant who worked with Andrew and is possibly inactive bruised by the experience, offers a somewhat much balanced appraisal and feels others should besides enarthrosis immoderate of the blasted for his downfall.

“The disapproval was relentless. A batch of it was justified. Some of it wasn’t,” the adjutant recalled.

“He’s go a pantomime fig and I recognize why. He  painted an casual target connected his backmost and for the astir portion didn’t adjacent realise it, or, if helium did, helium didn’t care.

“He comes from an epoch wherever helium was the Queen’s son, for God’s sake. He was lauded and applauded. People bowed and scraped for decades. That’s got to impact your ego and I  fishy helium astir apt thought helium was bulletproof.”

The adjutant told Fabulous: “He grew up successful a antithetic epoch and past recovered himself abruptly helpless erstwhile judged by the standards of the 21st century. 

“He had the biggest portion to play successful his ain downfall, obviously, but you person to inquire whether anyone astir him implicit each those years should person taken him speech and told him to mean his behaviour. You tin bushed yourself up astir it but the information is, I uncertainty he’d person listened. 

“There’s a acquisition for each spares to the heir successful this, and the radical who counsel them. These guys are expected to conscionable get connected and bash the occupation but they’re often woefully equipped to bash it. 

“So it possibly falls to each of america astir these radical to bash much of the dense lifting, to effort to support them connected the consecutive and narrow. The occupation is, astatine the extremity of the day, they’re adults. And they tin beryllium bloody obstinate adults.”