Prince Andrew's rudeness to Kate Middleton caused ongoing feud with Prince William: book

Fox News

18 hours ago

A new explosive book on Prince Andrew is so radioactive that several royal experts already believe it will "secure the final nail in his coffin."
The disgraced Duke of York is the subject of an unauthorized biography by British author Andrew Lownie that hits bookshelves on Aug. 14, "Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York." Royal experts told Fox News Digital that it's a 400-page-long reputational death blow based on hundreds of sources.
One of the claims the book makes is that at one point, Andrew was "rude" to Kate Middleton, known as the jewel of the royal family. This has resulted in tensions between the duke and his nephew, Prince William, which have lasted for years.
A source also claimed to Lownie that William, who is heir to the British throne, "has long worked behind the scenes to evict his uncle from Royal Lodge."
"Envy has always been a strong emotion within the royal family," royal expert Ian Pelham Turner claimed to Fox News Digital. "These alleged barbed comments ultimately upset William. It's one of many 'Baby Grumpling' outbursts Andrew was famed for when flying into a rage when anyone questioned his authority."
"Certainly the Royal Lodge, Andrew's home in Windsor, is a constant source of embarrassment for the rest of the family," Turner shared.
While Andrew has a 75-year lease, William could look for other ways to remove the duke from the too-large palatial property once he becomes king, he argued.
Lownie's book paints the late Queen's favorite son as a globe-trotting, womanizing eccentric — known for strange indulgences like "air showers" and a menagerie of stuffed animals, outbursts that left staff in tears, and a history of eyebrow-raising business dealings.
Fox News Digital reached out to Buckingham Palace, Kensington Palace and a spokesperson for the duke's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, for a comment. A Buckingham Palace spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital they don't speak for the prince as he's no longer a working royal.
"Prince Andrew is becoming the Titanic of the royal family, with him hitting the scandal iceberg, which could sink the whole royal ship," said Turner. "Unruly, rude, arrogant — and that's, according to the book, some of his better qualities."
"I am not easily shocked, as a journalist for 59 years," said Turner. "But this book examines the detailed sex life of 'Randy Andy,' which sounds more like a lifetime marathon than a sprint, allegedly starting at age 11. This, in any legal form across the world, is child abuse, which begs the question, how did this happen?"
"This is a book that will secure the final nail in Prince Andrew's coffin," British broadcaster and photographer Helena Chard told Fox News Digital.
While many of the accounts shared with Lownie are eyebrow-raising, the U.K. Times reported that the most disturbing stories from his "character assassination" are those involving late American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The BBC reported that Lownie's book "offers meticulous detail" of the connection between the two men, which allegedly goes back to the early '90s, much earlier than what was previously claimed.
"The prince was a useful idiot who gave [Epstein] respectability and access to political leaders and business opportunities," Lownie wrote.
He also quoted a friend of Andrew's who said of Epstein that it "was like putting a rattlesnake in an aquarium with a mouse."
"The public image of Andrew has been frightful ever since his infamous car crash interview on 'Newsnight' in 2019," royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital. "… Andrew Lownie gives us a portrait of a bizarrely dysfunctional individual. He claims that… Andrew has leveraged his status for personal gain, and he also sees him as a threat to national security."
Chard pointed out that some of Lownie's promised revelations may not surprise some readers. However, the book won't do the royal, who has been attempting to keep a low profile since his exit in 2019, any favors. But it does prove that "the Andrew problem" refuses to go away, she said.
"[A lot] of the book's content is rehashing information that is already in the public domain," she argued. "However, there is certainly a peppering of extra salacious material, along with alleged intimate secrets. [But] we are all aware of Prince Andrew's bombastic character and that he makes very poor judgments.
"His resignation from public roles and removal of his honorary military affiliations and charitable patronages are also well documented. He is in a never-ending fall from grace and the circle of chatter around his buffoon-like behavior and alleged wrongdoing is set to continue."
"There are a few things surrounding Prince Andrew's personal life that jump out at me," Chard shared. "Prince Andrew may have been afforded many privileges. However, I can't help but feel unsettled by his vulnerable, lonely, isolated feelings growing up. His air of detachment and acts of sabotage undermine others and himself… And people will push to uncover the mystery behind Prince Andrew's finances."
In January 2022, the queen, who died in September of that year, stripped her second son of his military titles and patronages. At the time, the father of two attempted to have a sexual abuse lawsuit made by Virginia Giuffre dismissed. Andrew settled with Giuffre for an undisclosed sum, agreeing to make a "substantial donation" to her survivors' organization.
Giuffre said Epstein trafficked her and that she had sex with Andrew three times: in London during her 2001 trip, at Epstein's New York mansion when she was 17, and in the Virgin Islands when she was 18. The prince, who vehemently denied the allegations, acknowledged in a statement filed in court that Epstein was a sex trafficker and Giuffre "an established victim of abuse."
Giuffre took her life in April of this year at her farm in Western Australia, her publicist confirmed. She was 41.
Royal experts told Fox News Digital that despite book sales, it has already cast a dark cloud over the House of Windsor that can't be ignored. Fitzwilliams pointed out that current U.K. polls strongly support stripping Andrew of his remaining royal titles.
"Andrew is a disgrace," said Fitzwilliams. "He has lost his patronages and cannot use his HRH title. However, he is still a Counsellor of State, a Knight of the Garter, and holds the title Duke of York. The former are [a] the gift of the monarch. There are reports that his nephew will remove them when he succeeds to the throne."
"The removal of his dukedom would need an Act of Parliament, and this would involve public debate, which the royal family would certainly not relish," he added.
British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that while the senior royals have long followed the late queen's mantra — never complain, never explain — she wondered if Lownie's book would prompt them to publicly respond.
"The royal family is to act in the interest of the British public," said Fordwich. "Unfortunately, the Prince Andrew issue has been and always shall be a blemish on an otherwise outstanding track record of service and dedication to duty."
"This issue is never going away," Fordwich warned. "His conduct has been beyond ghastly for so many years. Sadly, this subject was a weakness of the late queen. Even when staff tried to raise this issue, the conversation would inevitably turn to dogs and horses."
WATCH: QUEEN ELIZABETH 'REMAINED INCREDIBLY CLOSE' TO PRINCE ANDREW 'RIGHT UP UNTIL HER DEATH,' ROYAL AUTHOR CLAIMS
"The royal family was aware that the book was landing at a quiet news time," Chard claimed. "They were also aware that it was going to be an ugly, damning read… The royal family will ride the wake of the allegations and keep mum."
According to the Times, Andrew is now "lonelier than ever." He primarily spends his time at Royal Lodge, the estate he shares with his ex-wife, reading camera manuals and watching favorite films like "The Terminator." His "saving grace" is the love and support he receives from his ex-wife, their two daughters and grandchildren. And many of those who once spoke highly of the prince have "abandoned him."
Meanwhile, Ferguson has seemingly put out a message using her personal style. As Lownie's book made headlines in late July, the Duchess of York carried out a public appearance in London wearing loafers bearing the phrases "Never Complain" and "Never Explain."
"Andrew does not appear to be doing much aside from playing golf and watching videos," Fitzwilliams claimed. "It is a far cry from the period when he was seen as a hero after the Falklands War in the 1980s. The Palace must be thankful in that it no longer acts for him, as this biography is extremely damning, both for him and his ex-wife."
"Where does that leave him now? Broken… in solitude and despair at Royal Lodge, watching airplanes land on a big screen," Turner claimed. "The substantial mansion, by all accounts, is falling around him. Morally, he is being propped up by Sarah Ferguson and his daughters."
But if Prince Andrew was ever hoping to say "I'll be back," he could forget it, said Chard. A royal comeback won't ever be in the cards.
"The damage has been done," she said. "Prince Andrew no longer has the royal role that he so desperately craves. He lost his royal standing, which gave him his platform and status. He will not get this status back."
"Perhaps he [could]… write his own authorized biography," said Turner. "He has nothing to lose."