24 October 2023 , 18:55
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Disgraced Prince Andrew has certainly had a dramatic few years that has seen him retreat from public life and lose all of his honorary military affiliations.
A disastrous interview on BBC Newsnight about his association with Jeffrey Epstein led to a chain of events, which now sees him no longer carry out duties for the monarch. He currently lives in a 30-room mansion called Royal Lodge in the heart of the Windsor estate with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
The Mirror exclusively revealed last month how Andrew, 63, had been granted a "stay of execution" to remain at his home indefinitely, provided he can come up with the estimated £2million needed for renovations, including damp work which is throughout the property.
Prince Andrew at King Charles' Coronation in May (UK Press via Getty Images)Before moving into his current abode, a former home of the Queen Mother, the Duke of York lived at Buckingham Palace in his younger years, where several claims have been made about the unusual nature of his bedroom. Numerous former Palace workers have spoken out to reveal what they saw in the room during their time working there, including teddies on the bed. One of those is Charlotte Briggs, a former maid who worked at the Palace in the mid-90s, who claimed the prince had 72 cuddly toys on his bed.
She said the toys had to be lined up in size order, and it took staff an entire day to be trained on how to arrange them on his bed. She told the Sun: "As soon as I got the job, I was told about the teddies, and it was drilled into me how he wanted them. I even had a day's training. Everything had to be just right. It was so peculiar." She added: "But he absolutely loved the teddies and was very clear about how he wanted them arranged."
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Prince Andrew on the Buckingham Palace balcony with his late mother the Queen (Getty Images)The biggest teddies were said to be put at the back, and the rest were in descending order of size to the smallest at the front. The prince's two favourite teddies were placed on mahogany thrones at his bedside, Charlotte claimed.
Meanwhile, in a separate ITV documentary about Andrew, there were more claims about the handwritten guide to arrange the toys and other items in the room. According to former royal protection officer Paul Page, the handwritten guide is said to have included two toy hippos, a black panther and bears, as well as three cushions called 'Daddy', 'Ducks' and 'Prince'. It showed exactly where to place blankets, as well as five toys and a fur, which had ribbons that had to hang off the side of the bed.
According to Paul, the instructions were laminated and titled "DOY bed: Points for turn down & making the bed", with Andrew keeping the accompanying sketch close to his bed while staying at the Palace.
Meanwhile, a third insight into the room at Buckingham Palace was given by former Mirror reporter Ryan Parry, who actually got a job there. He secretly worked at the palace for two months in 2003 after using bogus references to expose the then gaping holes in royal security.
During his time there, he was able to walk unchecked through Andrew's private apartment and uncovered a running joke with household staff, which saw him leave a stuffed monkey in unusual locations. The toy, which was the mascot of the former ITV Digital and a puppet co-star of comedian Johnny Vegas, was left in places such as the jaws of a stuffed leopard.