How Duke lost battle of the throneroom
THE Duke of York is facing claims of an unseemly row with his elder brother over their loo-and-lather arrangements.
According to a former member of palace staff, the Duke, who is facing a civil case in the US courts over claims of sexual abuse and has been stripped of his military titles and patronages, allegedly refused to remove his toiletries from a bathroom intended for the Prince of Wales, in an argument 23 years ago.
The Duke, then 39, only relented after an intervention from the Queen, a former maid has claimed.
Janette McGowan, who worked at Buckingham Palace, claimed that at Christmas 1999 he refused to move his toiletries when told that a particular bathroom at Sandringham had been reserved for Prince Charles, then 51.
Ms McGowan, who had travelled to the estate in Norfolk with the Royal family, told The Sun: “We were told not to move anything and not to touch anything in that bathroom because there was an ‘ongoing situation’.
“When members of the Royal family travel to Sandringham they are each allocated rooms and a bathroom.
“But Prince Andrew took the bathroom that was allocated for the Prince of Wales and he wouldn’t budge, and refused to take his stuff out of it. It turned into a bizarre stand-off. In the end, the Queen herself had to intervene to defuse the situation. She actually had to have words with Andrew and say to him that he had to use the other bathroom, and that was when he finally backed down.
“He was almost 40 at the time. It was very odd behaviour for someone of that age. Charles was very grown up about it, which is more than you can say for Andrew.”
The Duke was, at the time, living at Buckingham Palace, following his divorce from Sarah, Duchess of York.
Ms McGowan, now 65, was a housemaid there from 1999 to 2000 and went on to work for Princess Michael of Kent and the Earl and Countess of Wessex.
The Duke is currently preparing to give sworn testimony against Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who has accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17, which he vehemently denies.
Buckingham Palace, Clarence House and the Duke of York declined to comment.