Andrew Faced Humiliation on His First Return to Windsor Castle After Losing Titles
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor has absorbed so many blows that he probably has developed a tolerance for humiliation. But nothing could have prepared him for the frostiness that met him at Windsor recently. The estate that once fluffed his ego now seems determined to show him exactly where he stands, and it’s nowhere near where he used to.
Daily Mail columnist Ephraim Hardcastle reported, “It's all change at Windsor Castle. On his first visit since his title defenestration, the former Prince was not saluted by guards. The customary bows he was offered at every turn (and woe betide anyone who forgot) have disappeared.” Staff who once fussed, paused, and lowered their heads in his presence, according to Hardcastle, are not only standing straight but, in some cases, rather enjoying the shift. “Some even relished calling him Mr Mountbatten Windsor, instead of Your Royal Highness.” But that wasn’t the end of the indignities. The man who once had meals ferried from the Castle kitchens to Royal Lodge, a perk insiders jokingly likened to a 'Royal Deliveroo,' has seen that privilege cut off as well.
More recently, on Monday, Mountbatten Windsor was unexpectedly spotted and photographed in public (see pictures here) for the first time since his demotion, after nearly 7 weeks. Astride a royal horse and chatting with a female companion, he was seen riding across the Windsor estate. But did anyone really think his demotion would nudge him quietly into the background?
Even stripped of titles and status, he appears determined to negotiate his post-royal future on his own terms, and those terms are not modest. According to the Daily Mail, Mountbatten Windsor “is insisting, as we shall see, on an appropriate home and a rota of staff fit for the son, however debased – of a queen and the father of two royal princesses, who ironically can now insist that Andrew bows to them.” In other words, while the monarchy has moved to shrink its influence, Mountbatten Windsor seems intent on preserving the trappings of the life he once lived.
But the practicalities of his new arrangement remain unresolved. The Mail notes that “no agreement has yet been reached on who will look after him.” And until the Palace makes those decisions, even the most intimate markers of his old routine, including his famously fastidious teddy bear collection, remain in limbo.
As per reports, Mountbatten Windsor is 'playing hardball,' with a list of requests that includes “a cook, a housekeeper and a secretary-cum-butler, plus gardeners – either his own or the use of those already working for the royal family.” He also reportedly wants “the right to roam, rather than being confined to quarters,” signalling that he is unwilling to fade quietly into the background at Windsor or at Sandringham, where he is expected to be sent.