Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor displayed “extreme entitlement” according to a former diplomat (Image: AP)
A former diplomat who worked with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor when the ex-prince was a trade envoy for the British Government claimed he brought a peculiar item with him on every trip — and described it as “absolutely insane”.
Simon Wilson who was a deputy ambassador to Bahrain from 2001 to 2005 — and he met Andrew on five occasions and helped arrange trips for the now disgraced former Duke of York.
Andrew spent a decade as a trade envoy, a job he started in 2001, and Simon recently opened up about one uncomfortable thing that was immediately noticeable.
However, despite the role being unpaid, Simon claimed the late Queen’s son brought a large entourage on trips overseas, and that one member of his staff carried an unexpected item with him.
Simon said Andrew had a private secretary, an equerry, two clerks who were supposedly responsible for writing thank you letters, and two police officers.
He had his own valet who carried a specific item with him for Andrew(Image: Getty)
However, speaking about an official trip in 2003, when Andrew was the Special Representative for International Trade and Investment for a job in the Middle East, he went on: “And there was this chap called the valet who was carrying a six-foot ironing board which we were unaware of until it arrived.
“And then the ironing board got stuck in the revolving door of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Bahrain — this five-star hotel.
“And I’d say to the valet, ‘Why on earth are you bringing this ironing board — is this normal?’ And he’d say, ‘Yes, I carry it everywhere because I’m the only person that knows how to iron his Royal Highnesses’ trousers.’
“I said, ‘It’s absolutely insane — this is one of the best hotels in the Gulf.’
“And this was the start we had before we’d even started the visit.”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor(Image: Getty Images)
According to Simon, Andrew refused commercial flights, even if it was first class, and insisted on private planes to conduct business trips.
He also said during the 60 Minutes Australia interview that he refused to stay with the ambassador at the residence, which would have been free, and instead preferred the finest hotel available, like the Royal Suite at The Ritz-Carlton in Bahrain.
Simon, a long-serving former member of the British diplomatic service, also said they were given “reams of instructions” about the likes and dislikes of Andrew.
This included food tastes and that he was partial to still water that was at room temperature with no ice.
And speaking about the thing he spotted immediately, he added: “One thing that was noticeable, which I didn’t encounter with any other visit of a royal family, they always went very smoothly anyway, was that his staff seemed to be petrified of him.”
He added: “You really got the impression that they were really uncomfortable all the time, treading on eggshells, didn’t want to put a food wrong and of course that transferred in the wider picture to us, the embassy who were organising things, we were treading on eggshells.”
Simon also revealed that Andrew’s nickname among diplomats was ‘His Buffoon Highness’.