"His punishment is not enough": Jenni Murray on Ex-Prince Andrew
Our columnist says an early interview with an unhappy Sarah Ferguson made it clear that Randy Andy’s reputation was far from a joke.
Our columnist says an early interview with an unhappy Sarah Ferguson made it clear that Randy Andy’s reputation was far from a joke.
I remember how funny we all found the title of the late Queen’s favourite son. Randy Andy was also known as the Party Prince and a string of girlfriends was attached to the young, handsome, charming war hero who came home from the Falklands War in 1982, grinning with a red rose between his teeth.
He was so much more attractive than his steady, serious older brother – now King Charles. Andy was the Spare, unlikely to take the throne, and free to see life as privileged and a bit of a laugh. I got a hint of how he was unlikely to leave his randy reputation behind as early as 1989, three years after his marriage to the sparky Sarah Ferguson.
He was the father of his first child, Beatrice. I was invited to Buckingham Palace to interview the Duchess on the occasion of the publication of her first children’s book, Budgie: The Little Helicopter.
I was shown into the sitting room of a flat on the third floor of the palace, looking out at Queen Victoria’s statue. A young woman, wearing a pinny, her hair tucked into a mob cap came in. I thought she was a maid. It was Sarah.
It became apparent quickly that I was talking to a lonely, deeply unhappy woman who made no secret – privately, but not on tape – of her concerns about her husband. She hardly saw him, she told me. His naval duties occupied him, of course, but she was never asked to join his travels. She was alone with the child and always wondered what he was up to and with whom.
No wonder the marriage lasted such a short time. They divorced in 1996 soon after Andrew was apparently introduced to Jeffrey Epstein by Ghislaine Maxwell. Randy Andy indeed.
I can only assume Sarah must have hated Andrew’s friendship with the two sex offenders. It’s hard to believe that the late Virginia Giuffre was the only girl/young woman to whom the then prince had access. I’m not the only person who finds a £12 million payment to her inexplicable if, as Andrew insists, he was not involved in any offences against her.
As for Sarah, she stuck around, living with Andrew in splendour and telling Epstein he was the best of friends after he had bailed her out financially. It’s amazing what decent people will endure when they have a close royal connection and a title, need somewhere lovely to live, and find even the most despicable of friends have money to dish out if it’s needed.
It seems to me Melinda Gates – former wife of Bill – has been the only person to have reacted to Epstein’s lifestyle like a decent person. She was invited to his home and was disgusted at the sexy pictures and objects she saw everywhere and the number of girls present. The presence of Epstein, she said, made her feel sick. She refused to meet him again and insisted her husband stay away from him. Bill continued the friendship. It’s understood to have been an element in the Gates divorce. I suppose Melinda didn’t need Epstein’s money. Sarah should have hated it all as much as Melinda did.
It’s clear to me that Andrew has been proud throughout his life of his Randy Andy reputation. He’s been a spoilt, arrogant man who thought he could get away with anything because his mother loved and supported him. He appeared on Newsnight thinking people would accept his ridiculous stories, pretending he’d cut his ties with Epstein when he’d clearly done no such thing.
He’s now been found out. It can’t have been easy for an older brother to strip his sibling of his tiles and privilege, but the King has been tough enough to do what was needed so we can envisage a sad and lonely Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor living alone at his brother’s expense. As lonely as Sarah was in their younger days. I can’t wait for her to tell her story.
His punishment is not enough. Andrew won’t have the decency to go to America voluntarily and tell the lawyers there what they need to know about the rich and famous men who abused their clients. He must be required to go. He must tell what he observed and what he did and did not take part in when it came to abusing young women and girls.
He must acknowledge his appalling behaviour. He must ease the pain of those women who suffered. Randy Andy was funny. Disgraced Andy is not.
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