The Queen deliberately showed support for Prince Andrew over the Jeffry Epstein saga and retained “confidence” in him, a new royal biography claimed.
Gyles Brandreth’s new book, Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait, claims that while the Queen was quick to fire her son in 2019, she still stood by him, publicly going out for a rainy ride with him.
He claimed that the Queen was always a good listener and patiently listened to the Duke of York as he regaled the saga to her.
READ MORE: Pub’s strict rules for ‘disgusting’ Americans watching World Cup match with England
When he was done, Brandreth says she simply replied with one word and said: “intriguing”.
He added that the late monarch, who died in September, was never one to go on more than was necessary.
(Image: David Dyson)
The royal expert claims he was quick to show her support when the pair went for a ride together in Windsor Great Park the following day.
The rainy horseback outing was a demonstration of “how much she loved him,” and the photographs that emerged from the day were deliberate, Brandreth said.
She was also pleased he was next to her as she went to the memorial service of her husband, Prince Philip.
He also claims that the Queen’s sense of “realism” was also on show during the saga, with the monarch quick to make moves to remove the Prince from public life.
(Image: UK Press via Getty Images)
According to Brandreth, a courtier once told him: “There was a lot of nonsense talked about no one being at the helm, but the Queen took a firm grip of things.
“To use the military jargon, there was only a few days between flash and bang.
“Action was called for and the Queen took it.”
Andrew was forced to stop using his HRH titles in public and was stripped of his military roles, including Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.
Despite the Queen’s later public shows of confidence in her son, other royals were concerned about the optics that photographs of the pair of them might come with.
Prince Andrew was accused of having sexually engaged with Virginia Giuffre when she was underage via Epstein.
He has strongly denied all allegations.
Andrew reached an agreement to pay Giuffre a settlement out of court, although this was not an admission of guilt.
The Daily Star has approached Buckingham Palace for comment.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here .
READ NEXT: