Prince Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office this week, and a new report examining the King’s brother claims a footman once punched him as a young man
The unexpected arrest of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor on his 66th birthday this week has been followed by another setback. Government sources suggest that once any police investigation into the King’s brother is concluded, discussions will commence on removing him from the line of succession.
Andrew’s connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein have been under the microscope for months, and the recent release of three million documents by the US Department of Justice seems to cast new light on their relationship.
Some emails exchanged from an account believed to be Andrew’s with the disgraced financier suggested that he may have shared confidential information from his tenure as UK Trade Envoy with Epstein.
One such email was sent on Christmas Eve 2010, in which the account forwarded Epstein material related to confidential investment opportunities concerning the reconstruction of Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, and searches have been conducted at a property in Norfolk, and his former residence in Berkshire, Royal Lodge.
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He has been released pending further investigation, and once this is concluded, the government will initiate the procedure to formally remove him from the line of succession. This will necessitate an act of parliament, and unanimous agreement from all 14 realms where King Charles is head of state, reports the Mirror.
A fresh report scrutinising Andrew’s “very long fall from grace”, which the public has observed culminate in recent months when the monarch abruptly stripped his younger brother of his royal titles and styles, has been published in The Times. It offers new insight into the King’s brother as a young man, and his relationship with the late Queen.
Frequently referred to as the late Queen’s “favourite son”, one claim in the report includes a startling reaction from the former monarch. The publication alleges that “as a young man his behaviour was so atrocious that a footman punched him in the face.”
Despite her well-documented closeness with Andrew, “Queen Elizabeth refused his subsequent offer to resign on the grounds that her son had obviously deserved it.”
The report further suggests that Andrew used to irritate his mother, even though she “indulged” him. “He spent his childhood annoying almost everyone. Even she was irritated by his habit of climbing onto the roof of Buckingham Palace to tinker with the TV aerial so she couldn’t watch the racing,” the outlet claims.
The allegation that a footman once gave Andrew a black eye was initially revealed by royal expert Ingrid Seward in her book ‘My Husband and I’. The expert documented that on one “occasion when [Andrew’s] taunting so annoyed a young footman that he took a swipe at Andrew that deposited him on the floor and left him with a black eye,” the royal staff member was left “fearing for his job.”
The footman approached the Queen directly, Seward has claimed, and offered his resignation, but she declared that “her son had obviously deserved it and the footman was on no account to be punished for Andrew’s bad behaviour”.
Nevertheless, one insider challenges whether Andrew truly was the late Queen’s “favourite”. Ailsa Anderson, who served as the late Queen’s Press Secretary between 2001 and 2013 told the BBC, “The media do say that he was the favourite son, but in my 12 years working for the late Queen I never saw her display any favouritism amongst any of her children, so I can’t really say that’s true.”
Following Andrew’s arrest on Thursday from his temporary residence at Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate, he was transported to Aylsham police station – but the majority of staff at Aylsham Police Investigation were instructed not to attend that morning, a new report has disclosed, whilst officers exclusively dealt with the former duke. “Days before” his arrest, staff were reportedly informed that a “notable person” would be arriving.
It’s even been suggested that an IT shutdown was part of the police operation to ensure the news didn’t leak out in advance.
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