Andrew Ditches Teddy Bear Obsession for Bizarre Nightly 'Ritual' With Queen Elizabeth’s Corgis
The insider claims Andrew's new pastime has become a 'huge source of emotional reassurance,' reminding him of his former royal life.
After his infamous fall from grace over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's mental health has reportedly gone for a toss. The boredom and the lack of royal duties appear to have taken a toll on the former Prince, who is now said to be finding new ways to keep himself occupied. According to a source, he has shifted much of his focus to the late Queen Elizabeth's corgis, closely managing their sleeping and eating routines after ditching his alleged obsession with arranging teddy bears.
Speaking to OK! magazine, the insider claimed Mountbatten-Windsor has ensured that the dogs receive the same care and attention they enjoyed under his late mother's care. They said, "Andrew has poured an enormous amount of emotional energy into those dogs because, in many ways, they represent the final living link to both his mother and the world he lost…He obsesses over the details – where they sleep, the bedding they use, the routines they follow before bed." While people around him joked that he treated them better than state matters, for him, caring for the corgis has reportedly been about dealing with his grief, nostalgia, and 'his attachment to the Queen.'
In a similar vein, another source alleged that the former Duke of York's obsessive bedtime ritual around the corgis had become very obvious in recent months. They spilled, "Andrew sees them [the corgis] almost as guardians of his mother's memory, so he insists on preserving the habits and rituals they had during the Queen's lifetime. He is extremely particular about keeping their evenings calm and familiar, right down to where they settle for the night and how the rooms are prepared for them." Those running in his circle also believe that the pets have become a 'huge source of emotional reassurance' after his scandalous fallout, which saw him stripped of all his royal privileges.
As for his previous obsession with teddy bears, much of his collection is packed away in storage following his departure from Royal Lodge to Marsh Farm. The source stressed, "People who know Andrew well say the teddy bears used to be his great comfort and obsession inside Royal Lodge. Now that much of that world has been dismantled, the dogs have become the focus of his daily life." After the Queen's death in September 2022, Mountbatten-Windsor and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, were asked to care for her last two remaining corgis, Muick and Sandy, with Buckingham Palace confirming the arrangement three days later.
