Colin Burgess, a former equerry to the late Queen Mother has told how the former Prince Andrew’s rudeness made his blood boil with a rude comment that made him want to ‘deck’ the Queen’s son
Andrew narrowly escaped being ‘decked’ by an infuriated royal equerry(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
A former Royal Family employee has revealed that he wanted to “deck” Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after he made a rude comment towards him.
Since Andrew was stripped of his various royal titles and honours, more and more people that had first-hand knowledge of his notoriously poor manners have come forward to tell their own stories of the former prince’s rudeness and selfish behaviour.
Colin Burgess, who served as equerry to the late Queen Mother for many years, told royal biographer Andrew Lownie how the boorish former prince had pushed him almost to the limit: “I remember nearly telling him where to go when he came into Clarence House and wanted something wrapped,” he recalled.
“He looked at me and barked, ‘You, wrap that!’ and pointed to some object. I just thought, you rude, ignorant sod, and felt like decking him.”
Writing in Entitled, his bombshell biography of the ex-Duke of York, Lownie said: “It was obvious to Burgess in the way the royals viewed the Queen Mother’s staff. For [King] Charles, they were her companions, but to Andrew staff were just employees and were to be treated as such.
Burgess said: “I saw Andrew about once a month, when he came to visit Clarence House, and he would talk to the staff, including me, as an officer talks to his subordinates. He would say things such as: ‘I want this done and I want it done now,’ or ‘Have that done by such and such a time.’ I remember him always saying ‘Do it!’ which was his catchphrase of sorts.”
Andrew was a favourite to his grandmother, as well as the late Queen(Image: Daily Mirror)
Society journalist Petronella Wyatt told Lownie how she first met Andrew at a posh country house party in the 1990s, said King Charles’s younger brother was self-important and had no self-awareness. “He reminded me of Princess Margaret, who thought she was more royal than the Queen,” she said.
“He talked and you had to listen and ignored all attempts to change the conversation. He was as charming as a bull in a china shop and continued to make inappropriate jokes. He’s the most out-of-touch royal I’ve ever met and I’ve met lots. He really does believe in the Divine Right of Kings.”
Ken Wharfe, personal bodyguard to Princess Diana and her two sons, told Lownie that he was ordered out of his seat on a return flight from Balmoral so that Andrew could look out of the window. “Unlike the rest of his family, Andrew has always proven to be a very arrogant individual,” said Wharfe.
“It’s just in his nature … and anyone he comes across in policing or public service is certainly of a lower class than him … His manners are just awful and his behaviour and attitude quite frankly does not endear him to everybody.”
Andrew’s driving is notorious among royal staff(Image: Jonathan Buckmaster)
There are countless tales of Andrew driving around the Windsor estate, forcing pedestrians to leap out of the way as he careered recklessly past, and he is known to have hit a policeman as he sped into Buckingham Palace in 2010.
“The uniformed officer suffered an arm injury and complained to his bosses,” Lownie writes, “but nothing was done.”
He also escaped the consequences in 2002, after being stopped by police for speeding at 60 in a 40-mph zone: “When stopped he refused to get out of the car, leaving his protection officer to handle it,” Lownie says. “The offence carries a minimum fine of £60 and three penalty points, but Andrew was let off on the grounds that ‘I’m in a hurry’.”
A Windsor Great Park worker said back in 2016: “He has a bit of a reputation for roaring around like Toad of Toad Hall.”
However, with the loss of his royal title Andrew’s immunity from the consequences of his behaviour may now be at an end. As plain Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince may be about to discover the penalties for rudeness for ordinary people.