Queen Elizabeth ‘remained incredibly close’ to Prince Andrew ‘right up until her death,’ royal author claims
Katie Nicholl, Vanity Fair's royal correspondent and author of The New Royals, spoke to Fox News Digital about the late monarch's close relationship with the Duke of York during the months leading up to her death.
Queen Elizabeth II was said to have had "a blind spot" when it came to Prince Andrew as his controversial friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein exploded within Buckingham Palace.
"When the Jeffrey Epstein-Prince Andrew scandal erupted in 2011, Elizabeth proved to be the ‘Queen of Denial,’" Christopher Andersen, author of "The King," claimed to Fox News Digital.
"Andrew simply denied that the salacious accusations were true, and that was good enough for the queen," Andersen claimed. "The late queen had a blind spot when it came to Andrew, whose sexual exploits earned him the nickname ‘Randy Andy’ decades before the Epstein affair . . . At Her Majesty’s direction, Buckingham Palace issued a series of statements in which Andrew insisted he ‘did not see, witness or suspect’ that Epstein was a notorious sexual abuser of underage girls."
"The late queen had a blind spot when it came to Andrew, whose sexual exploits earned him the nickname ‘Randy Andy’ decades before the Epstein affair."
As a mother, Queen Elizabeth II was said to be protective of her son Prince Andrew, whose antics earned him the nickname "Randy Andy" from the press. (Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)
"When a 2010 video surfaced showing Prince Andrew standing inside the doorway of Epstein’s New York mansion, waving to a very young woman outside, the palace issued yet another statement claiming that the Duke of York was ‘appalled’ and the suggestion he would condone, participate in or encourage any such behavior was ‘abhorrent,’" added Andersen.
Andersen’s claims came shortly after DailyMail columnist Ephraim Hardcastle told the outlet that the late monarch was "quite dismissive" of the allegations surrounding Andrew’s connection to Epstein.
"Three senior members of the Royal Household wrote to Her Majesty suggesting it would be wise if Andrew were suspended from royal duties pending a full inquiry," he claimed. "The trio received a curt reply conveying the royal displeasure from an assistant private secretary. And their invitations to the staff Christmas party that year appeared to have got lost in the post."
A Daily Mail report claimed that Queen Elizabeth II was "quite dismissive" of the allegations surrounding Prince Andrew’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace didn’t immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
Andersen believes the latest claims. And he insisted that the queen’s eldest son, the former Prince Charles, attempted to intervene.
"When one of Epstein's victims, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, stepped forward to directly accuse Andrew of abusing her on three separate occasions, Andrew decided to sit for a lengthy prime-time BBC-TV interview to refute the charges, but that backfired, spectacularly," Andersen said.
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Several royal experts claimed that Prince Andrew (left) has had a rocky relationship with his eldest brother King Charles (right). (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
"While Queen Elizabeth, true to form, thought the interview ‘went well,’ there was otherwise unanimous agreement that the BBC interview was an unmitigated disaster," he claimed. "Outraged over his brother's behavior, Charles met with the queen and finally convinced her drastic action was in order. Andrew was summoned to Sandringham for lunch with Charles and [their father] Prince Philip, both of whom informed him that he would be essentially ‘retiring’ as a senior member of the royal family."
According to reports, Prince Andrew told his mother that he was innocent. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)
"Eventually, the queen grudgingly agreed to parcel out Andrew's patronages among other royal family members, strip him of his honorary military titles, and order him not to use his HRH status in any official capacity," Andersen said.
It has been reported that the queen "came to her favorite child’s rescue" and reached into her own pockets to help pay the estimated $14 million settlement Andrew’s lawyers reached with his accuser, Andersen pointed out.
Queen Elizabeth II presented The Gold Cup to Prince Andrew, Duke of York after her horse "Estimate" won during Ladies Day on Day 3 of Royal Ascot at Ascot Racecourse on June 20, 2013, in Ascot, England. (Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)
"It wasn't so much that the queen felt Prince Andrew was guilty - she just didn't want the sleazy headlines a civil trial would generate to mar her majesty's upcoming Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022," Andersen claimed.
"Despite all the shame that has rained down on the monarchy because of Andrew, the late queen never stopped doting on him," he shared. "Mother and second son remained close right up until the end; Queen Elizabeth and Andrew were far closer than she and Charles would ever be."
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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew reportedly remained incredibly close as mother and son over the years. (Ben Stansall - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
The queen, England’s longest-reigning monarch, died in September 2022 at age 96. Despite their alleged sibling rivalry, it was reported that Charles invited his younger brother to Balmoral Castle, where he will be staying for the rest of the summer to host loved ones.
The Scottish retreat was also where the queen died.
"Summers at Balmoral are a royal family tradition, and Charles can be terribly nostalgic when it comes to the Scottish Highlands, his mother's favorite place in all the world," said Andersen. "Perhaps that, and the fact that he is battling cancer and wants to gather the family around him, explains why he has invited Andrew to Balmoral."
Balmoral Castle, the royals' Scottish home. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
Royal expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that without the beloved matriarch by his side, Andrew is on his own.
"As any mother would, Queen Elizabeth II was protective of her son," Fordwich explained. "In the end, it took more than 150 Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy veterans to persuade her to strip him of all his military titles and ranks within the British Armed Forces. They wrote to the queen, signing a joint letter. They were all well aware of her most difficult position, addressing it head-on: ‘We understand that he is your son, but we write to you in your capacity as head of state and as Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Navy and Air Force.’"
WATCH: QUEEN ELIZABETH ‘REMAINED INCREDIBLY CLOSE’ TO PRINCE ANDREW ‘RIGHT UP UNTIL HER DEATH,’ ROYAL AUTHOR CLAIMS
"The letter concluded: ‘Officers of the British Armed Forces must adhere to the very highest standards of probity, honesty and honorable conduct. These are standards which Prince Andrew has fallen well short of,’" Fordwich shared. "While there is unlikely to ever be a full rehabilitation of Prince Andrew, he has been invited with his former wife . . . who is recovering after breast cancer, to join his brother King Charles III and the rest of the family at Balmoral. [But] his royal public life is over."
Queen Elizabeth II arrives in Westminster Abbey accompanied by Prince Andrew, Duke of York for the Service Of Thanksgiving For The Duke Of Edinburgh on March 29, 2022, in London, England. (Richard Pohle - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
"He should be focused on knuckling down to something worthwhile to help others," Fordwich continued. "He needs to remain confined to only a private life. His lack of contrition, combined with lack of any public empathy for [Epstein’s accusers], has only served to worsen his situation."
Royal author and Vanity Fair correspondent Katie Nicholl previously told Fox News Digital that the queen "saw Andrew very regularly right up until her death."
"They remained incredibly close, and she was very protective of him," she said.
From left: Princess Anne, King Charles III, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward arrive at Westminster Abbey in London on September 19, 2022, for the State Funeral Service for Britain's Queen Elizabeth II. (Photo: Richard Pohle - WPA Pool/Getty Images)
Nicholl also described how when the Epstein allegations came to light, the late queen quizzed her son.
Prince Andrew is seen here with Jeffrey Epstein (far right). (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)
"Andrew assured her that he was innocent of those allegations," said Nicholl. "She believed him. This was her son, after all. And she didn’t just believe him. She stood by him."
A close family friend told Nicholl that Andrew had given his mother his word "on more than one occasion that he was innocent." But those close to the queen felt she should have been "more ruthless."
"There was a question being asked: Had some of her sharpness softened?" an insider who worked closely with the monarch told Nicholl.
Jeffrey Epstein died in 2019 at age 66. (New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services/Handout via REUTERS)
Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019.
In a lawsuit filed in 2020, Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually exploiting her on three occasions in 2001 when she was 17. Andrew has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
In 2022, a U.S. judge dismissed the sex abuse lawsuit against Andrew, who settled with Giuffre. The prince made a substantial donation to his accuser’s charity and declared he never meant to malign her character.
Virginia Giuffre holds a photo of herself at age 16, when she says Palm Beach multimillionaire Jeffrey Epstein began abusing her sexually. (Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
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Epstein was found dead behind bars in 2019 at age 66. The U.S. attorney in Manhattan prosecuted Epstein's former girlfriend, Ghislaine Maxwell, for helping recruit his underage victims. She was convicted in 2021 and is serving a 20-year prison term.
Andrew was named in previously secret court documents related to Epstein that were unsealed in the new year. It was part of a 2015 lawsuit filed against Maxwell by Giuffre.
The records, including transcripts of interviews with some of Epstein’s victims and old police reports, contained reminders that the millionaire had surrounded himself with famous and powerful figures, including a few who have also been accused of misconduct.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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