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    Staff Disliked Ex-Prince Andrew as a Child for Allegedly Kicking "Helpless Guardsmen" and "Taunting" Dogs and Horses, so They "Shoveled Manure Over Him"

    "I'll tell my mommy!"

    Amy Mackelden's avatar
    By Amy Mackelden
    Published 3 November 2025 In News

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    Ex-Prince Andrew as a child fires a bow and arrow inside Windsor Castle in 1969
    (Image credit: Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images/Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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    The former Prince Andrew has officially been demoted by the Royal Family and will no longer use any of his royal titles, including the Duke of York. Now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, The King's brother is set to leave Royal Lodge for a home on the Sandringham estate. Former staff have also been reflecting on the way Andrew allegedly behaved as a child, and the consequences he faced for doing so.

    Writing for The Sun, royal expert and author Ingrid Seward wrote of Andrew, "When he was five, he made his way to the bottom yard of the Royal Mews at Windsor while his father Prince Philip was out carriage driving."

    Seward continued, "The grooms didn't like having him around because they had seen him taunting the dogs and aiming sly kicks at helpless guardsmen." The final straw allegedly came when a young Andrew "started taking a swipe at the legs of the horses."

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    Prince Andrew wearing his Cub Scout uniform at Buckingham Palace in London, UK, July 1968

    Prince Andrew at Buckingham Palace in July 1968.

    (Image credit: Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

    The staff allegedly decided to take revenge on Andrew, so "they picked up the protesting prince, tossed him onto the dung heap, and shoveled manure over him," Seward wrote.

    Unsurprisingly, the 5-year-old royal wasn't exactly pleased by their actions. As the royal expert explained, "When the impact of his humiliation hit him, he yelled and ran up the hill to the castle shouting, 'I'll tell my mommy! I'll tell my mommy on you!'"

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    Prince Andrew looking moody in a black and white photo as a child in 1968

    Prince Andrew photographed in 1968.

    (Image credit: Daily Mirror /Daily Mirror/Mirrorpix via Getty Images)

    According to Seward, it remains unclear whether the former Prince Andrew ever actually told Queen Elizabeth II what had happened to him. However, the staff apparently faced "no repercussions" following the incident. "And he seemed to learn nothing from being dumped in a pile of manure," the author alleged.

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    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.

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