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Prince William thought Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was an “ignoramus” even before the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and later pushed for him to be removed from royal life only to be overruled by King Charles III, a new royal book says.
William and Catherine: The Monarchy’s New Era by The Mirror‘s royal editor Russell Myers, says William took against his uncle, previously Prince Andrew, after seeing the way he treated royal staff.
Mountbatten-Windsor was then caught up in the Epstein scandal from 2011 after Virginia Giuffre said she was trafficked to Mountbatten-Windsor aged 17 by Epstein, who flew her to London, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2001.
Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied the allegations and settled a New York lawsuit brought by Giuffre for an undisclosed sum without admitting liability in 2022.
Myers writes that William urged Charles to take a tougher line on Mountbatten-Windsor after the king allowed Sarah Ferguson, Mountbatten-Windsor’s ex-wife, to attend church at Sandringham on Christmas Day in 2023. The book is due out in America next month.
Why It Matters
The scandal over Mountbatten-Windsor has spread to include an allegation from a second woman and also a Thames Valley Police review of allegations of misconduct in a public office over emails he sent Epstein seemingly containing confidential government trade reports.
Charles stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his royal titles, including “Prince” and “Duke of York,” in October.
Prince William and King Charles Clash Over Andrew
“In a clear sign of his wish for further harmony in his family, Charles invited his former sister-in-law, Sarah, Duchess of York, to join the royal family and walk alongside her ex-husband Prince Andrew to church at Sandringham,” Myers wrote.
“It would be the first time she had participated in this tradition in 32 years. The King’s decision to bring his brother back into the family fold was an issue William fundamentally disagreed with, to such a degree that he challenged Charles directly.
“A source with knowledge of the conversation said that William was ‘very much put in his place’, and that while he did not agree with the view that Andrew’s exile should be limited, he did not provoke his father further.”
Mountbatten-Windsor’s reputation was already in tatters by this point, not only due to Giuffre’s allegations but also following a car crash interview in 2019 in which attempted to counter her account.
Ridicule followed after Mountbatten-Windsor told viewers he had a medical inability to sweat and attempted to use an afternoon visit to Pizza Express to say he could not have seen Giuffre in the evening.
In the aftermath, Mountbatten-Windsor quit public life but made several attempts in the years that followed to push his way back into the spotlight, including at a memorial service for his late father Prince Philip at Westminster Abbey, in London, in March 2022. Mountbatten-Windsor walked Queen Elizabeth II to her seat and ended up on the front pages as a result.
Prince William Thought Andrew Was an ‘Ignoramus’
Myers says William’s hostility to Andrew predated public knowledge of the Epstein scandal.
“William’s negative view of his uncle Andrew had predated the Duke of York’s fall from grace,” he wrote. “For years the Prince of Wales had questioned what benefit his uncle was to the wider operation. ‘Long before he was embroiled in the scandal [involving Virginia Giuffre], he’d always thought his uncle was a bit of an ignoramus,’ a palace source revealed. ‘He would question ‘what does he actually do?’
“But it was more than that. He’d seen how Andrew behaved in front of staff, ordering people about, the aggressive or dismissive manner, they’d never seen eye to eye.
“William has a relationship with his cousins [Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Mountbatten-Windsor and Ferguson’s daughters] … so he takes no umbrage with them, but there’s no love lost for Andrew or Sarah.
“In an alternate dimension Andrew probably thought there would be a way back into public life if the scandal or the headlines died down, but it would have always had to be while his brother was King. William didn’t think either of them [Andrew or Sarah] should be anywhere near the family, publicly or otherwise, but he was overruled by his father.”
King Charles and Buckingham Palace’s Andrew Statement
Buckingham Palace released a statement on October 30: “His Majesty has today initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew. Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence.
“Formal notice has now been served to surrender the lease and he will move to alternative private accommodation. These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him.
“Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
What Happens Next
William and Catherine: The Monarchy’s New Era by Russell Myers is due to be published in America by Pegasus Books, on March 10, 2026.
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