In a royal family not known for its closeness, and sometimes riven with icy rivalries, the tortured relationship between the Queen’s two eldest sons, Prince Charles and Prince Andrew, has often simmered behind the scenes.
So, what is the cause of their rivalry?
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Labelled from an early age as a ‘mummy’s boy’ and stalked through his military career by unkind comparisons to his older brother, Andrew is said to have developed a resentment that exploded into the open when Prince Charles pushed to slim down the royal family presence at official events to a core group, shunting Andrew and his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, to the outer.
Author Andrew Morton wrote in his book, Andrew: The Playboy Prince that the duo’s conflict has its roots in the princes’ early school years.
‘Throughout his school career and beyond, inevitable and sometimes unfair comparisons have been made between Andrew and his elder brother,’ write Morton.
‘To Andrew’s obvious chagrin he found that whatever his achievements, be it in acting, swimming or sailing, Charles had done it first and usually done it better.
‘The fact that Andrew often aped his brother’s antics earned him the nickname Action Man Two, not a title he was particularly fond of.’
When Andrew graduated to service on the HMS Hermes, Charles’ prior posting, the unkind comparisons only escalated. Morton quotes a former crew member as saying, ‘Andrew is very likeable but he is very conscious of being a royal.
He’s a bit of a mummy’s boy – you could never say that about Charles.
‘Charles would never need encouragement to join in the fun and he certainly wouldn’t talk about girl conquests’.
The problem followed Andrew to Dartmouth Naval College, where Charles had been extremely popular.
‘When Andrew first arrived, he was resented by some fellow recruits,’ write Morton.
The author quotes one midshipman as saying, ‘[Andrew] played the big ‘I am the Prince’ routine all the time and seemed rather arrogant.’.
An instructor also told the author, ‘Prince Charles is still remembered with tremendous affection but Andrew isn’t popular with either the staff or his fellow cadets.
‘He never lets you forget who he is.’
Andrew’s resentments about Charles exploded when the heir agitated for a slimmed down royal contingent at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012, which only comprised the Queen, Charles, Camilla, William, Kate and Harry.
‘It did cause some ill-feeling among some members of the extended family, including Prince Andrew, who was particularly upset not to have been included,’ claims royal author Katie Nicholl in her book Harry: Life, Loss and Love.
The duo are now uncommonly seen in each other’s direct presence at events, and when they are – in typical Windsor style – their tone is never openly affectionate.
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