Shamed former Prince Andrew is facing renewed scrutiny over claims he exploited his close relationship with his mother Queen Elizabeth by using private moments to sidestep royal protocol – with insiders alleging the pattern reflected a calculated effort to manipulate access and authority at the highest level.
The allegations center on Andrew, now 66, during the later years of Elizabeth’s reign, when the late monarch – who died in 2022 aged 96 – maintained a tightly controlled schedule overseen by senior aides often referred to as the “men in grey suits.”
According to royal biographer Robert Hardman, Andrew developed a method of bypassing those gatekeepers by approaching the Queen directly during informal Sunday tea gatherings at Windsor, where officials were typically absent.
Hardman said: