Prince Andrew launched a torrent of foul language at the Queen’s press secretary, new book claims 

Though it may seem hard to believe now, Prince Andrew was once a popular figure. He looked good and had a penchant for the opposite sex, which earned him the nickname Randy Andy.

When he and Sarah Ferguson first married, their informality seemed like a refreshing change from the tightness associated with the royal family.

Over time, however, informality turned into rudeness, and as his marriage collapsed and his naval career came to an end, he became a man of limited horizons whose interests rarely extended beyond golf, videos, and women.

In 2001, he became a government trade envoy, a position he held for ten years until his friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein was revealed and he was forced to resign.

However, when he first took on the role, even those who were critical of him privately said that he really tried his best.

Many of those who used to work for the prince remain surprisingly loyal to him.

“It often felt that we were against the world,” said one of them.

Andrew flew as a helicopter pilot during the Falklands War in the 1980s

All the critical reporting – about his dubious friends, his penchant for private jets – “didn’t understand the work he did, and the good he did. It was very difficult to change the idea people had about him.”

There were letters from chief executives “from companies thanking him for helping to close a deal that had been stalled for years in Qatar or Central Asia.”

He was, they say, a good team leader, taking care of his staff. But he can be naughty, and worse. Much worse.

Some ambassadors appreciated Andrew’s presence, others did not. Sir Ivor Roberts, a former ambassador to Rome, said the Duke was “brutal to the point of rudeness” at times.

Simon Wilson, former deputy head of the British mission in Bahrain, once gave a damning assessment of Andrew’s efforts as an official trade envoy. Known as HBH – His Buffoon Highness – he ignored advice, made inappropriate jokes and regularly refused to stick to the agreed schedule.

At Buckingham Palace, Andrew made little effort to be nice to the members of the household. One member of staff said: ‘He was just awful – very happy to pick up the phone and yell at whoever picked up.’

Prince Andrew was seen in public for the first time since the Queen’s funeral in Windsor last week

A high courtier recalled: “As a consultant, he was not easy to get along with. He was indeed very arrogant. That arrogance could stem from a lack of self-confidence. He’s not clear at all.

“The fact that he lashed out and was very rude to advisers like me was related to a total lack of self-confidence, and [an awareness] that he could always run to his mother and say, ‘They’re all mean to me.”

On one occasion, that’s exactly what he did. Just before an engagement in Richmond Park involving the Queen and the Duke of York, it started to rain and the aides realized that no one had thought of bringing an umbrella for the Queen.

With half an hour to go before her arrival, her press secretary, James Roscoe, went outside to find a group of army officers on hand to meet Her Majesty.

He went to the youngest, a captain, and said, “I know this is ridiculous, but do you mind just looking for an umbrella for the Queen, and ideally someone who can hold it and walk beside her?”

At that moment Prince Andrew strode over to them, pointed his finger in Roscoe’s face and said, ‘Who the hell are you to ask these men to find your goddamn umbrella? You go find your own damn umbrella.’

He strode away and a slightly shocked Roscoe said to the officer, “Look, can you find me an umbrella?” He did.

About a week later, Roscoe spoke to the Queen about something else and she said, “At Richmond, did you ask the Duke of York to get you an umbrella?”

It seems Andrew had figured out that swearing at his mother’s press secretary wasn’t good, and decided to read his version of events first, in case Roscoe complained about his behavior.

Roscoe said to the Queen, “What do you think, madam? Do you think I asked the Duke of York to fetch an umbrella?’ The matter was settled there.

This wasn’t the only time Andrew was staggeringly rude. On one occasion, a high courtier was asked by Amanda Thirsk, the prince’s assistant, if they could help him get over a certain course of action he was trying to take.

When they gently raised the matter with Andrew, his response was immediate—and spectacular. “F*** out of my office,” he said, “and get out of my life.”