Why a Royal Staffer Hit Prince Andrew in the Face and Gave Him a Black Eye

Prince Andrew is no stranger to having his name in the headlines for all the wrong reasons. Following serious allegations that he had sexual relations with one of Jeffrey Epstein’s accusers, the Duke of York tried to clear his name and explain his friendship with the late convicted pedophile via a televised interview. But that decision made him look even worse.

His “car crash” interview garnered so much backlash that he had no choice but to temporarily step down from his royal duties. It was later reported that the prince would not resume any of his official duties. Now seen as the black sheep of the royal family, some fans have been wondering about Andrew’s past and his relationship with his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Prince Andrew is the queen’s favorite son

Prince Andrew resigning from his duties and having to remove himself from the royal spotlight isn’t something that Queen Elizabeth is happy about. After all, multiple reports over the years have noted that Andrew has always been her favorite child.

This claim was most recently made by royal historian Piers Brendon in the documentary, Paxman on the Queen’s Children. He said that the Duke of York is “obviously” the monarch’s favorite.

“Andy skipped university and went straight to naval college, which went down well with his naval officer father. He completed the Marines Commando course, just to show he could, before qualifying as a helicopter pilot,” Brendon explained. “Then, aged just 22, he fought in the Falklands. And so, it’s pretty clear that Prince Andrew is obviously Queen Elizabeth’s favorite son. He was heroic during the Falklands War. It’s clear that she has a soft spot for him.”

Andrew got into mischief as a kid and a footman hit him

While Andrew was the queen’s favorite, he was a mischievous child and really annoyed palace staffers with his antics.

According to royal commentator and biographer Ingrid Seward, who has written several books about Britain’s most famous family, Andrew would sometimes wander around the grounds of Windsor when the nannies were off and his parents were busy.

Seward wrote in the Daily Mail that one day when his dad, Prince Philip, was out carriage-driving the young prince began taunting the guardsmen on duty and kicking the dogs. Not getting any attention he then hit the horses in the legs with a stick and refused to stop. At that point, two groomsmen picked him up and tossed him into a pile of manure.

Another time, Andrew decided that he was going to rattle and irritate a footman for fun. That staffer became so aggravated that he “took a swipe at Andrew” leaving the prince “sprawled on the floor with a black eye.” The incident was reported to the monarch but the footman did not lose his job since he reportedly only reacted to Andrew’s taunting.

Since the queen absolutely adored her second son, Prince Philip was the one who would lecture and punish Andrew when he would bother the staff.