Queen Elizabeth’s Soft Spot for Andrew Lands on the List of 'Things She Got Wrong': Expert
A royal expert sheds light on Queen Elizabeth’s treatment of Andrew and why it’s now being viewed as a rare misstep on her part.
Although Queen Elizabeth never said who her favorite child was out loud, it is widely believed that she had a rather soft spot for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Royal expert and biographer Robert Hardman recently opened up about it on a podcast, explaining that the late Queen did not quite see her second son the same way she saw her other children. Compared to King Charles, Princess Anne, and Prince Edward, Mountbatten-Windsor came across as more “vulnerable” in her eyes, which likely made her extra protective and more attentive toward him over the years.
Speaking on the Daily Mail’s Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things podcast, Hardman revealed about the ex-Prince, “He was not as bright as the others; he could be boorish, and everyone knew that.” He deduced this would be one of the reasons why the late Queen always gave the former Duke of York the benefit of the doubt. The author also pointed out that it was Charles who formally stripped him of the royal titles, not Elizabeth. Hardman feels that she could have done more to keep her second son in check and that it was one of the things that she got wrong. He said, “That's obviously there on the relatively short list of things she got wrong. I think she got a lot more right.”
The royal biographer also shared anecdotes from Prime Minister David Cameron that painted a different picture. Apparently, everyone else in the royal household was very well aware of their boundaries except Mountbatten-Windsor. He said, “David Cameron said to me when I was writing the book, all the other members of the family knew the boundaries; they knew what they were supposed to do and what they shouldn't.” However, the disgraced former Prince had a sense of entitlement.
One of the stories Hardman shared about Mountbatten-Windsor on the podcast was about when he once resorted to violence. “There was this appalling moment where he actually punched the Master of the Royal Household,” the author revealed. It all started when Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt informed him that a room he wanted to use for an event was already fully booked. But instead of letting it go, he allegedly lost his temper, and Harman claims the situation quickly spiraled, “This ends with Andrew actually hitting the Master of the Royal Household.”
The incident did not stay under wraps and eventually made its way up to Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Hardman added, “When the Queen hears about it, she's not remotely surprised. I think we can understand where the Queen's sympathy lay because not long afterwards, the Master got a knighthood.”
His life currently is quite different from how it used to be. After the 66-year-old was evicted from the Royal Lodge, along with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, he started living at Wood Farms on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. However, following the renovations, he has seemingly permanently shifted to Marsh Farms on the same estate during Easter.
