A former official with the British mission in Bahrain was far from impressed with Prince Andrew when the royal was a trade envoy. Photo / Yui Mok, Pool via AP
A former official with the British mission in Bahrain was far from impressed with Prince Andrew when the royal was a trade envoy. Photo / Yui Mok, Pool via AP
A former British diplomat has unloaded on Prince Andrew, shedding new light on the Duke of York’s strange behaviour behind the scenes over the years.
Simon Wilson, now a consultant but previously a diplomat with the UK’s Foreign Office, is among the interview subjects featured in a loomingdocumentary from the television network ITV, called The Real Crown.
Wilson once served as deputy head of the British mission in Bahrain, and interacted with Prince Andrew when the royal was a trade envoy. He was not impressed.
“We had a whole raft of things that came out in advance of his visit, his dislikes in terms of eating and stuff. He would only drink water, it had to be at room temperature, no ice,” the ex-diplomat recounts in the documentary, according to LBC.
“He always brought a large entourage with him, a private secretary, an equerry, a valet, a lady clerk and a business adviser.
“We were shocked when a six-foot ironing board was trying to be negotiated into one of the embassy cars. I just could not believe that he was bringing an ironing board with him. I asked the valet and said, ‘This is insane’. The valet’s reply was, ‘No one knows how to iron His Royal Highness’ trousers like me’.”
King Charles III and Camilla, the Queen Consort with Princess Anne, second right, and Prince Andrew, right, attend the Easter Mattins Service at St George's Chapel. Photo / AP
This is not the first account of odd behaviour from Andrew. There were also, for instance, claims about an unusual fixation on his stuffed toys.
These eccentricities bothered the embassy staff less, however, than the Duke’s chronic rudeness and ill preparation.
On one occasion described by Wilson, the embassy had prepared a speech for Andrew at an event with the British ambassador.
“The ambassador gave the opening remarks and then said, ‘Your Royal Highness, you say a few words’. And Andrew refused to get up,” says Wilson.
“Then he did get up, and he tapped the ambassador on the head two or three times and said, ‘This is the man who’ll tell you all about trade’, and sat down. The whole room went totally silent.
“I thought initially, when he went off message at meetings, that it was an aberration, until I found that the same thing had happened at every mission – Oman, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Doha, Qatar.
“The same behaviour. Obviously, throughout his life, he’s done his own thing, and was quite happy to continue in that vein, and he knew there would be no repercussions.”
Wilson said the UK’s diplomats essentially lied repeatedly about Andrew’s performance, because there was no point in them giving an honest assessment.
Prince Andrew was allegedly quite bad at his role as a trade envoy.. Photo / Getty Images
“There’s no recourse as a member of the royal family, so no diplomat will write a critical letter. After every single visit a telegram would go back to the Foreign Office saying, ‘Everything has been wonderful, we’re all so grateful to His Royal Highness for another wonderful, successful visit’,” he recalled.
“Behind the scenes, it was a different matter.”
The documentary also features criticism of Andrew from a Conservative Party peer, Lord Chris Patten, who discusses the Duke’s disastrous interview with the BBC in 2019.
Under questioning from Newsnight host Emily Maitlis, Andrew offered an often farcical defence of his friendship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, and a denial of the sexual assault allegations made against him by one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre.
The Newsnight interview was so damaging to Andrew that it prompted his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, to strip him of his patronages, military affiliations and HRH title.
“He thought he was capable of getting away with some answer, which inevitably turns around and hits him over the head,” says Lord Patten, who believes Andrew was complacent and out of touch with normal people.
“It says he’s not plugged into the same reality as the rest of us.”
