Former Royal Staff Reveal the Odd Reasons Prince Andrew Would "Punish" Them, From "Wearing Nylon Ties" to Having "Face Moles"

According to a royal source, staff were "there to serve and not question his actions."

Prince Andrew wears a suit and tie at Wimbledon
(Image credit: Getty Images/Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Recent reports suggest that Prince Andrew might be forced to move out of his home, Royal Lodge in Windsor, following resurfaced allegations regarding his connection to convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein. Meanwhile, former Royal Family staff members have reflected on what it was really like to work for Prince Andrew.

In the biography, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, royal historian Andrew Lownie explored what staff experienced working for the disgraced royal. According to Lownie (via the Express), a source shared that Prince Andrew allegedly believed that royal staff members were "there to serve and not to question his actions."

According to the Express, "Andrew demanded that maids climb four floors of stairs just to open his curtains for him, even if he was lying beside the windows," per Lownie's book.

Lownie also alleged that royal staff were instructed to bow for Prince Andrew anytime he entered a room. When anyone forgot, the prince would allegedly say, "Let's try that again," before leaving the room only to walk back in.

Meanwhile, "a member of staff had one aide punished by being removed from his role because he didn't like the appearance of a mole on the man's face," the Express reported, from an anecdote in Lownie's book. According to the biography, another staff member was allegedly fired for "wearing a nylon tie."

Prince Andrew walking behind Princess Anne walking by a fence with trees

"Andrew demanded that maids climb four floors of stairs just to open his curtains for him."

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It was previously revealed in a 2022 ITV documentary that Prince Andrew was very particular about his stuffed toy collection. A former royal police officer alleged (via The Sun), "[Andrew's bed] had about 50 or 60 stuffed toys positioned and there was a card in a drawer. It was a picture of these bears all in situ. The reason for the laminated picture was that if those bears weren't put back in the right order by the maids, he would shout and scream."

Basically, working for the former Duke of York was allegedly quite challenging at times.

Amy Mackelden
Weekend Editor

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.