The late Queen Elizabeth II would have had a lot of feelings on the ongoing drama surrounding son Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
“It’s like a Greek tragedy; he’s been stripped of everything and humiliated,” royal author Phil Dampier told Hello! Magazine in an article published Tuesday, November 4. “The poor late queen would be absolutely heartbroken to see what’s happened to the son who was often referred to as her favorite.”
Dampier, who has been writing about the royal family for more than two decades, said it was “ a total shock” when news broke that Andrew had been stripped of his prince title.
“It’s a very extreme measure,” he added. “This situation is totally unprecedented and an extraordinary fall from grace for somebody who, when he was born, was second in line to the throne and returned from the Falklands a war hero.”
King Charles III announced on Thursday, October 30, that he began the formal process to strip brother Andrew of his title and evicted the former Duke of York from his home at Royal Lodge in Windsor.
“Prince Andrew will now be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor,” a statement from Buckingham Palace read at the time. “His lease on Royal Lodge has, to date, provided him with legal protection to continue in residence.”
The statement noted that “formal notice” was presented to Andrew, who “will move to alternative private accommodation.” Us understands he will be relocating to Charles’ Sandringham Estate.
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” the statement added. “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.”
Charles’ decision came after Andrew continued to make headlines for his connection to late billionaire sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. In 2019, the late Virginia Giuffre alleged that she had a sexual encounter with Andrew in 2001 when she was underage. Giuffre claimed that she and Andrew had crossed paths through Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell.
Andrew has continued to deny all of Giuffre’s allegations against him. She sued Andrew for sexual abuse in 2021, and they settled out of court the following year. Giuffre died by suicide at age 41 this past April. Her memoir, Nobody’s Girl, was published posthumously last month and detailed more allegations against Andrew and Epstein.
Dampier’s recent comments are similar to those made by fellow royal author Christopher Andersen to Us exclusively.
Andersen doubled down on Andrew being the late queen’s “favorite” child,” which was true “to the very end” of her life. “She did what she could to protect him,” the author added.
“This must have been a painful decision for the king — this is his brother, after all,” Andersen shared last week. “Charles must know how much booting Andrew out of the royal family would have hurt his mother, the late queen. I can’t imagine Elizabeth II would have ever gone this far — not ever.”
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