Now probe Andrew on bully row
Demand by ex royal cop over claims Prince ‘abused’ staff
PAUL PAGE
A FORMER royal officer has called for Buckingham Palace to launch a probe into Prince Andrew over bullying claims – just like they did on Meghan.
Paul Page, who worked in the Royal Protection Command from 1998 until 2004, alleges he personally made three separate complaints to palace officials.
And he claims he is aware of “at least a dozen” other reports made by colleagues.
Mr Page, whose revelations this week sparked a string of complaints about the prince, said: “Buckingham Palace launched a bullying investigation against Meghan last year after she was accused of wrongdoing.
IGNORED
“If it’s a fair organisation that looks after its staff, an investigation should be started to confirm whether or not Andrew is guilty of being a bully and of intimidating staff.”
He alleges complaints he raised during his service were ignored because senior courtiers did not want to create a stir.
Mr Page told the Sunday Mirror: “The Palace have a problem because there are instances and evidence of Prince Andrew being overbearing and verbally abusive.”
He said in an ITV documentary this week that Andrew would “shout and scream” if his collection of toy bears on his bed were not placed in exact positions by maids.
That prompted the prince’s former maid
Charlotte Briggs, 47, to come forward with allegations. She accused
Andrew, then in his 30s, of foul-mouthed rants and ludicrous demands.
They included making her run up four flights of stairs to close his curtains while, she says, he was right next to them. She also told of being in tears and of hiding to avoid the “bad-tempered” and “entitled” royal. Diplomat Simon Wilson, who hosted the duke in Bahrain, previously claimed the “rude” and “boorish” prince had “childish obsessions” and was nicknamed HBH by staff – for His Buffoon Highness.
Former maid Janette McGowan, 65, yesterday claimed she had to check a Polaroid of 50 teddy bears on Andrew’s bed and lay them out in exact positions to avoid him becoming angry.
Mr Page claimed there “must have been at least a dozen complaints” about bullying in the time he was there. He alleged: “It was well known in the palace, but no investigation was conducted by the royal household.”
Mr Page claimed a colleague had been called a “fat lardy-a *** d c *** ” by the prince after stopping a woman at the gates who had not been listed as an invited guest. He said: “Even the woman went bright red and said, ‘I’m really sorry’. Another time a woman got locked in and he came down f-ing and blinding and ranting.”
Andrew, 61 – ninth in line to the throne – is facing calls to be evicted from 31-room Royal Lodge after being told to stop using his HRH title and stripped of his military titles and charitable affiliations.
He is fighting sex assault claims in the US in a civil suit by Virginia Giuffre, the alleged sex slave of his former pal Jeffrey Epstein. He vehemently denies the claims. Mr Page lost his job when he was convicted over a £3million investment fraud in 2009. The Palace and a spokesman for Prince Andrew declined
to comment.
If it’s a fair organisation it should investigate if Andrew is a bully
EX-ROYAL PROTECTION OFFICER