2025 has seen one humiliation after another for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. The former prince was stripped of his royal titles earlier this year, becoming a commoner after more details about his friendship with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein were released. Meanwhile, he also lost his last remaining military title this week, being downgraded from Vice-Admiral to ‘Commander’. Now, some old comments from his late former mother-in-law have been put back in the spotlight thanks to a book on his rise and fall. (Picture: Getty Images)
The former prince married Sarah Ferguson – the former Duchess of York – at Westminster Abbey on July 23 1986, with the royal wedding televised across the world. However, the book has revealed just what Fergie’s late mother, Susan Barrantes, really thought of Andrew. (Picture: PA)
The comments have come to light in Entitled: The Rise and Fall Of The House of York by author Andrew Lownie, which draws from accounts of those close to the couple. And Susan, who died in a car crash in September 1998 aged 61, didn’t mince words when it came to her son-in-law and suggested that the marriage might have lasted if Andrew ‘had character’. (Picture: Victoria Jones/Shutterstock)
Speaking during an interview with Italian magazine Gente, the documentary filmmaker said of Andrew: ‘He’s a good-looking boy and has a heart of gold to the point where he would be without any money himself to help someone, but he just hasn’t got any character – absolutely none. If only he had character, perhaps his marriage wouldn’t have broken up.’ The couple separated in 1992, just months before Charles and Princess Diana announced their own split, and their divorce was finalised in 1996. (Picture: EPA)
Following their split, Ferguson – or ‘Fergie’ as she’s affectionately known – went from being a well-liked royal to the ‘most unpopular’ in opinion polls. As Lownie puts it: ‘Having announced their separation, the Yorks perhaps understood that their royal lustre had been tarnished.’ (Picture: Ken McKay/ITV/Shutterstock)
As well as losing his royal status, the former Prince also had his last titles officially removed earlier this month – meaning he is no longer a member of the Order of The Garter, or a Knight of the Grand Cross Of The Royal Victoria Order. Speculation has continued to swirl over where he will live after he was evicted from the Royal Lodge – the Grade II-listed, 30-room Windsor home which he had lived in for 22 years. Sarah Ferguson, who also lived there, was also reported in October to be moving out. (Picture: Getty Images)
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While it’s been widely reported that Andrew will move to a property on the grounds of Sandringham, a royal estate in Norfolk, latest reports suggest he could end up in a much smaller property compared to a ‘showbox’ while the one he is meant to move into undergoes renovation work. However, this is said to be a lot smaller than the Royal Lodge – with the contents of that property already being moved out ahead of his departure next year. (Picture: Karwai Tang/WireImage)
‘A lorry has been and gone under the cover of darkness,’ a source told Daily Mail. ‘Andrew is going to a shoebox-sized house, compared to Royal Lodge, so a lot of the things that were taken are going into a storage unit. The clutter at Royal Lodge is turning what should be a straightforward move into a months-long, room-by-room excavation.’ The insider suggested moving all of Andrew’s belongings could be a ‘painfully slow’ process. (Picture: AP)Add as preferred source