Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Vice-Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt (centre), pictured alongside Princess Anne in September 2025. Photo / Getty Images
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had a “physical altercation” with one of Elizabeth II’s most senior aides, it has been claimed.
The former Duke of York was accused of lashing out at Vice-Admiral Sir Tony Johnstone-Burt, master of the household, allegedly because he could not accommodate a Pitch@Palace event at Buckingham Palace.
His behaviour was considered so concerning that his late father, Prince Philip, reportedly felt obliged to write a letter of apology to Johnstone-Burt.
“It was a routine household matter,” a senior member of staff told Robert Hardman, a royal author.
“The Duke wanted to have a reception, and there wasn’t any room. It was as simple as that.
“Tony said he’d have to wait his turn like anybody else, and the Duke went for him.”
According to Hardman, it was “not just an outburst of expletives and a jab of a finger” but what one member of staff described as a “kinetic” blow, which caused astonishment within the royal household.
The alleged incident is described in Hardman’s latest book, Elizabeth II, which is being serialised in the Daily Mail.
Johnstone-Burt has been master of the household since 2013 and remains in the position working for the King.
The retired naval officer was among the senior members of staff who led the ceremonial procession out of Buckingham Palace during the late Queen’s funeral in September 2022, performing one last duty for “the boss”.
His department handles official and private entertaining across all the royal residences, running teams that span hospitality, catering and housekeeping, from florists and upholsterers to specialist craftspeople and caterers.
Johnstone-Burt is said to have reported the altercation with the former Duke to the Lord Chamberlain, Lord Peel, who raised it with the then Prince Charles, who in turn spoke to his brother.
The Lord Chamberlain then received a call from an unapologetic Mountbatten-Windsor, who is alleged to have said: “I gather you’ve been calling people and causing problems”.
Hardman describes a different incident in Windsor, when grooms from the Royal Mews had been riding some of the late Queen’s horses on the estate.
“One had waved a firm hand at an approaching car which was revving its engine aggressively,” he writes.
“It pulled alongside and, through the window, the Duke of York bellowed at her: ‘Who the f*** do you think you are?’”
The former Duke is said to have demanded her name before taking it up with the late Queen in person.
The book also describes the “cold fury” within the royal household that the former Duke had gone against all internal advice to record the infamous 2019 Newsnight interview in the palace.
“Everyone in his office had been told that this should not happen,” a senior aide was quoted as saying.
Lord Peel added: “The Duke had an over-riding belief that he was better than the rest of us. His self-confidence and entitlement was off the scale.”
When it came to drafting Mountbatten-Windsor’s subsequent letter of resignation, the late Queen was said to be “very, very down”.
A source told Hardman it was “the worst” moment that they could recall for the late Queen. “She was very stoical,” they said. “She understood the need. But it was very, very painful.”
In her final years, the monarch was said to have realised that her second son could no longer continue to live at Royal Lodge, his Windsor home.
She wanted him to relocate to Frogmore Cottage, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s former home, so that Prince William and his family could move into Royal Lodge.
“I remember the Queen looked out of the window and said: ‘Andrew to Frogmore and William to Royal Lodge.’ That was the plan,” Hardman quotes a source as saying.
However, Prince William preferred the more modest Adelaide Cottage, which at the time was occupied by the late Queen’s cousin, Simon Rhodes, a great-nephew of the Queen Mother.
When Rhodes was informed that the Duchess of Cambridge and her mother would like to come round with a tape measure, he was said to have realised that his days were numbered.
“It also meant a stay of eviction for the Duke of York,” Hardman noted.
Mountbatten-Windsor has long had a reputation for allegedly ill-treating staff.
There have been multiple accounts of him screaming and shouting at aides and royal protection officers if his wishes were not fulfilled.
He is said to have banished one aide because he “couldn’t bear” to look at a mole in his face and arranged to remove another member of his staff because he was wearing a nylon tie.
According to Andrew Lownie, an author, royal staff were instructed to bow to Andrew any time he entered a room. When anyone forgot, he would allegedly say, “Let’s try that again”, before leaving the room, only to walk back in again.
Elsewhere, Hardman alleges that Jeffrey Epstein would mock Mountbatten-Windsor behind his back.
He quotes a source as saying: “Jeffrey used to make fun of Andrew and say how ‘dumb’ he was. He told me he was taking Andrew on the planes to meet these dictators and do business deals.
“Andrew would mean they would get into receptions and meet people, and Jeffrey would do a deal, and he said he gave Andrew a cut.”
Mountbatten-Windsor’s office has been contacted for comment.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said it did not comment on books.
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