HOW WE REVEALED HIS TOE-TO-TOE ROW
PRINCE Andrew’s highhanded treatment of staff was revealed in a Mail on Sunday exclusive in 2019 which detailed how he had flown into such a furious rage at a senior Palace aide that Prince Charles had to ask him to apologise.
We reported that the Duke of York had even ‘squared up’ to Tony Johnstone-Burt, the Queen’s Master of Household, during a heated fracas at Buckingham Palace.
Friends of Andrew said at the time that he was under ‘immense strain’ over the Jeffrey Epstein affair.
They said ‘something snapped’ when he was prevented from using a Palace room for a business event, after being told it was a breach of the convention confining events to ceremonial, state and charity functions.
A friend of the Prince rejected a suggestion from a well-placed royal insider that the Duke had physically assaulted Mr Johnstone-Burt during a toe-to-toe confrontation.
‘There were heated words on both sides but the altercation was in no way physical,’ said the friend. ‘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 and asked his brother to say sorry for his behaviour.