Former Buckingham Palace staffer Charlotte Briggs said she was often reduced to tears by Prince Andrew. Photo / AP
Former Buckingham Palace staffer Charlotte Briggs said she was often reduced to tears by Prince Andrew. Photo / AP
Prince Andrew's former maid has spoken out about her nightmare ordeal working for the royal in the '90s, saying he was "demanding" and "entitled".
Speaking to The Sun, former Buckingham Palace staffer Charlotte Briggs said she was often reduced to tears by the Duke of York, who on one occasionforced her to run up four flights of stairs to close curtains that he was sitting next to.
She claims Prince Andrew, 61, then became frustrated by a tiny gap she'd left in his curtains, before saying to her: "Can't you f***ing do anything right?"
"This man fought for his country in the Falklands but couldn't stand up to close his own curtains," Charlotte told the publication.
"It was utterly ridiculous but spoke volumes about him.
"Andrew definitely put a downer on things. He thinks he's above everyone."
Charlotte, 47, said she was only 21 when she was employed by Buckingham Palace in 1996.
After six months working in administration, she was asked to be Prince Andrew's maid when he moved back into the palace following his divorce from Sarah Ferguson.
Charlotte told how she would lay out his pyjamas and teddy bears on his bed every evening, which was fluffed with cushions embroidered with the Royal Crest that had to be positioned perfectly in the centre.
"Nobody wanted the job because of his reputation for tantrums and sweary outbursts," she said.
Prince Andrew and Sarah, The Duchess of York, with daughters, Princess Beatrice, and Princess Eugenie in 1996. Photo / Getty Images
"It didn't put me off. I thought, 'Sod it, I'm going to go for it'. I'd moved down from Yorkshire to Buckingham Palace and wanted to take on the challenge, to look after the royals.
"I'd not been there long - not long enough to look after a royal - but I thought I'm going to do it and I got the job."
Despite her best efforts to make the most of her new gig, Charlotte said Andrew quickly made her working life "miserable".
"He was a bad apple and behaved like a spoiled brat," she added.
"Really you weren't actually meant to be seen, you'd just sneak in and do stuff. But he was a bit lazy and he would call down from his office and say, 'Can you send the maid to shut the curtains'.
"They were literally behind him and massive — from floor to ceiling and as high as a house. But he refused to get up and close them himself.
"I'd have to get on my evening dress, run up four flights of stairs and he'd be sitting there at his desk right next to them.
"One night I'd done it all, I walked back into the corridor and he came out screaming, 'Can't you f***ing do anything right?' I'd left a little gap where they met but they were extremely heavy.
"It was awful and he brought me to tears. I was only 21 and had little life experience."
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson, right, talks with Prince Andrew in 2019. Photo / AP
In contrast, Charlotte said the other royals were a delight to be around.
"Charles and Edward, especially. They weren't anything like Andrew. I bumped into the Duke of Edinburgh in the corridor and he was so nice and gentlemanly," she said.
"I was even hugged by Nelson Mandela. Andrew was a world away from him. You couldn't get a bigger contrast.
"Nelson Mandela appreciated everything he had and never underestimated the huge responsibility he had as a human being. Andrew was just entitled.
"Prince Andrew was my main guy but I also worked at Sandringham for Prince Charles just before Princess Diana died. Charles was so nice and caring. He showed empathy and kindness."
Charlotte told The Sun she lived in the Palace while she was employed and was paid $1170 a month. She left shortly before Diana's death in August 1997.
Meanwhile, Andrew is in turmoil after he was stripped of his royal honours amid his looming alleged sexual abuse trial.
Lat week the Queen stripped him of royal titles as he faces a sex abuse trial.
His legal team are preparing to give sworn testimony against claims by Virginia Giuffre, who alleges Andrew sexually assaulted her when she was 17.
