ANDREW IN RAGING BUST-UP WITH TOP ROYAL AIDE
Palace altercation was so serious Prince Charles was dragged in
PRINCE Andrew flew into such a furious rage at a senior Palace aide that Prince Charles had to ask him to apologise, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
A source close to the Duke of York – who is under intense scrutiny over his links to paedophile
billionaire Jeffrey Epstein – last night confirmed the outburst, admitting that Andrew had ‘got very cross’.
However, the friend rejected a suggestion from a well-placed Royal insider that the Duke had physically assaulted the highly respected aide, adding: ‘There were heated words on both sides but the altercation was in no way physical.
‘It was a verbal dispute. It was a work-related issue. The Duke got very cross that what he wanted wasn’t possible.’
Prince Charles subsequently heard of the row, which happened in recent weeks, and asked his brother to say sorry.
The source added: ‘The Duke explained the situation to the Prince of Wales and left it at that. There was no apology because there was nothing to apologise for. The Duke maintains a good relationship with the Prince of Wales.’
A source close to Charles said such an intervention would not be unusual. ‘He is the second most senior member of the family and is
‘The Duke has never assaulted anyone’
known to take action when and where is necessary. Mostly he is well informed and will intervene where it is appropriate to do so.’
A friend of Andrew’s ex-wife, the Duchess of York, added: ‘The Duke has never assaulted anyone.’
Last night, Buckingham Palace said: ‘Some time ago there was a disagreement between the Duke of York and a member of staff. The disagreement was resolved and there are no ongoing issues.’
Andrew – who appeared tense during a military ceremony in Belgium yesterday – has spent weeks embroiled in scandal surrounding his friendship with Epstein, who killed himself in prison last month following his arrest over sex trafficking of underage girls.
Buckingham Palace has issued strong denials over allegations made by Virginia Roberts Giuffre that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was 17 years old.
She claims she had sex with Andrew ‘three times, including one orgy’ in London, at Epstein’s home, and at an ‘orgy’ on his private island in the Caribbean.
Speaking outside a court in New York last month, she said he ‘knows what he’s done’, adding: ‘I hope he comes clean about it.’
Friends of the Duke fear the scandal will affect his Royal duties and work with charities. Last week, planned official engagements to Northern Ireland were cancelled and there are doubts over his involvement in a youth golf tournament in Portrush this week.
Andrew appeared rattled during yesterday’s visit to Belgium to attend a ceremony marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Bruges. A TV news reporter asked if he would co-operate with lawyers in America over his links with Epstein. Andrew ignored the shouted question.
This is not the first time the Duke has faced claims of being boorish and rude to staff.
In 2016, he reportedly rammed his Range Rover through closed park gates close to his Royal Lodge home in Windsor to avoid a onemile detour.
At the time, a park worker said he ‘has a bit of a reputation for roaring around like Toad of Toad Hall and he seems to think he can do what he likes’.
Six years ago, he was alleged to have raged at armed royal protection officers at Buckingham Palace who mistook him for an intruder.
As Britain’s trade ambassador – a role he was forced to relinquish in 2011 when his association with convicted paedophile Epstein emerged – the Prince was dogged by criticism over his boorish behaviour.
It was reported that diplomats had nicknamed him HBH, His Buffoon Highness, because of his ‘childish obsession’ with doing exactly the opposite of what had been agreed in pre-visit meetings.
Simon Wilson, Britain’s deputy head of mission in Bahrain from 2001 to 2005, said the Duke travelled with reams of demands including the instruction that drinking water should be served at room temperature.