Royal Staff Reportedly Humiliated Andrew By Taking 'Cruel Revenge' After His Title Loss

Disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor did not have the best reputation among his staff, as he reportedly berated them from time to time. However, after the former Prince was forced to relinquish his royal titles last month, his aides at Windsor Castle got the last laugh by taking cruel revenge. According to a new report, when Mountbatten-Windsor visited the Castle following his title loss, the staff refused to address him as 'Your Royal Highness.' Instead, they pointedly called him 'Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor', rubbing salt into his already deep wounds.

As per Ephraim Hardcastle, a well-connected columnist in the Daily Mail, staff at Royal Lodge reportedly continue to 'tug the forelock' of Mountbatten-Windsor. However, the guards at Windsor allegedly refused to salute or bow to him after his public fall from grace. In a final blow, his privilege of having food delivered from Windsor Castle now stands null, although the column sarcastically noted that 'there is a Pizza Express in Windsor town center, which makes castle calls.' For those unversed, the former Duke famously claimed to be at Pizza Express with his daughter, Princess Beatrice, on the same day his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, alleged that he was with her and Jeffrey Epstein at a club. 

While the other side of the lot may argue that the staffer's actions were unwarranted, their alleged reaction may have stemmed from Mountbatten-Windsor's reported poor treatment of them. Revelations of his bad behavior were first exposed in Andrew Lownie's book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the Yorks, where the author alleged that the former Prince routinely mistreated staffers, often barking orders like "Do it now!" He was also known to allegedly fly into a rage if his collection of 72 teddy bears wasn't perfectly arranged on his bed, with maids given a laminated sheet showing the exact layout. Lownie claimed Mountbatten-Windsor's instructions for his aides were always, "I want this done and I want this done now!"

Much like Lownie, former royal butler Grant Harrold also argued that Mountbatten-Windsor was dismissive and cold towards his aides. According to the Daily Express, he recalled, "The character that I remember, unfortunately, was never rude to me, but he was quite kind of dismissive because I was there as a butler." He continued, "He was the only royal I never had any kind of conversation with, even in a social situation." As for why the former Duke was least interested in interacting with his employees, the former butler stressed, "Because you were staff, he wouldn't speak to you, he was always very kind of dismissive, he was never rude."

Interestingly, despite his ill reputation among his employees, Mountbatten-Windsor reportedly wants guarantees from King Charles that a roster of various staffers would serve him in his new home. Royal expert Barbara Davies detailed an insider's account of the behind-the-scenes drama. For the Daily Mail, she penned, "Disgraced Andrew, it is understood, is playing hardball. He wants 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."