Prince Andrew 'lobbied' Queen to stop Charles being King, book claims

2022-09-22

Prince Andrew ‘lobbied’ Queen to stop Charles becoming King: Duke of York ‘plotted’ with Diana to allow William to accede to the throne ahead of Charles, royal author claims

New biography claims Andrew ‘plotted’ to set himself up as Regent with Prince William leapfrogging Charles
A palace insider alleges the Duke of York was ‘poisonous’ and ‘very nasty’ about Camilla, now Queen Consort
He is also said to have been ‘extremely unpleasant’ when he failed to get his way
The Queen’s funeral: All the latest Royal Family news and coverage

Prince Andrew secretly plotted with Princess Diana and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson to try to prevent Charles becoming King and allow Prince William to take the throne with the Duke of York as Regent, an explosive new biography claimed today.

Andrew is also alleged to have ‘lobbied’ the Queen and campaigned against the marriage between Charles and Camilla, now King and Queen Consort, telling his mother that she was not trustworthy.

Angela Levin’s new book on the life of Camilla, serialised in the Telegraph, claims that the Duke of York was ‘very nasty’ to her and conspired with Princess Diana to prevent the Queen’s eldest son from becoming King.

Under his alleged plan, William, then a teenager, would have been lined up for the throne had the Queen died with Charles pushed out and Andrew made Regent until the now Prince of Wales was 18.

Citing a ‘senior insider’, Ms Levin writes that the Duke of York ‘plotted’ with Diana to ‘push Prince Charles aside’, with the aim of Prince Andrew becoming ‘Regent to Prince William’.

‘Andrew lobbied very hard with the hope that Charles would not become king when his mother died, and that William would wear the crown’, she said.

Ms Levin added the Prince ‘lobbied very hard’ to try and prevent his older brother from taking to the throne.

Prince Andrew is said to have ‘lobbied’ the Queen to try and position himself as Regent to Prince William

The Prince is also said to have opposed the now-King Charles marriage to Camilla

Andrew’s alleged plot would have seen William on the throne should the Queen have died – with Andrew as Regent

A ‘senior insider’ at the palace is said to have told Ms Levin: ‘When Diana was alive, through her friendship with Andrew’s wife Sarah, [Duchess of York] she plotted with Andrew to try to push Prince Charles aside so Prince Andrew could become Regent to Prince William, who was then a teenager.

‘They were dark and strange times, where paranoia became reality, and this was a worry.

The explosive claims are in Angela Levin’s new biography, based around Camilla’s life

‘His behaviour was very, very negative and extremely unpleasant to Queen [Elizabeth], who disagreed. I was told it was one of the rare occasions he didn’t get his way.

‘Nonetheless, he was apparently very angry that he couldn’t rule the country in some way. He remained so hostile to Camilla’s emergence and acceptance that it’s doubtful it has ever been forgiven.’

Buckingham Palace and representatives for the Duke of York have been contacted for comment.

Ms Levin also wrote about the Duke’s hostility to Charles’ marriage to Camilla, claiming Andrew was ‘poisonous’ and ‘very nasty’ about her to the late Queen Elizabeth.

The insider said: ‘He tried to persuade the Queen to block Charles marrying Camilla by being quite poisonous, mean, unhelpful and very nasty about Camilla.’

These claims allegedly included that Camilla was insufficiently aristocratic and was untrustworthy.

In 1998, when Charles turned 50, a party was thrown but the Queen and Prince Philip declined in case Camilla was there.

Camilla’s close friend Lucia Santa Cruz said: “When Camilla was married to Andrew Parker Bowles, she used to go to Balmoral with him and join the Royal family. They got on marvellously well with her… But when the marriage failed and she was with Prince Charles, she was rejected and got all the blame, which was so unfair’.

The Duke of York and King Charles have reportedly had a strained relationship over the years, which has worsened dramatically since Prince Andrew’s ties to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein emerged.

When Buckingham Palace announced in January that the Prince would be stripped of all his military titles and patronages, and would defend his sex abuse case against Virginia Giuffre as a private citizen, it was understood the now-King had been instrumental in influencing the decision.

The Queen is said to have always had a soft spot for her second son, the Duke of York

A palace insider told Angela Levin that Prince Andrew was ‘poisonous’ and ‘very nasty’ about Camilla (pictured following the church blessing of their civil wedding ceremony)

Princess Diana is said to have been supportive of her son, Prince William, ascending to the throne ahead of his father

At the time, palace sources said the ‘ruthless and swift’ decision had been ‘widely discussed’ within the Royal Family following Andrew’s failed bid to persuade a judge to dismiss the civil lawsuit.

Prince Charles and his son William were understood to have been ‘instrumental’ in the move to force him out from being an active member of the royal family.

Charles was said to have spoken to his mother by telephone to share his thoughts on the decision.

An inside source at the palace said at the time: ‘It was a ruthless and swift decision which will have been recommended by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge and sanctioned by the Queen.’

It was later reported in February that Charles had told his brother to stay ‘out of sight’ at official events.

Prince Andrew has since reached a settlement with Ms Giuffre, in which he did not admit any wrongdoing.

Angela Levin has previously published biographies of the royal family, including Prince Harry in 2018 and on Prince William and Kate in 2015.

Her latest work, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall: From Outcast to Queen Consort, explores Camilla’s relationship with senior members of the royal family and how they have evolved over time.

Source: Read Full Article