Royal biographer Andrew Lownie has exposed the six bombshell words Andrew Mountbatten Windsor told a national treasure during the 1987 charity event It's A Royal Knockout. In his latest book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, Lownie recounts a confrontation between the Duke of York and singer Meat Loaf at Alton Towers theme park.
The Incident at Alton Towers
The medieval-themed event featured Andrew, Sarah Ferguson, and Princess Anne participating in slapstick games alongside celebrities, with Prince Edward as the brainchild. One celebrity was Bat Out of Hell singer Meat Loaf, who had a spat with Andrew. Lownie writes: 'Andrew also tried to push Meat Loaf into a moat after he felt the singer had taken too great an interest in Ferguson.'
The US rocker, dressed in a fake suit of armour, responded by grabbing the duke, who reportedly moaned, 'You can’t touch me, I’m royal.' According to Lownie, Meat Loaf told him: 'Well, you try to push me in the moat, Jack, I don’t give a s*** who you are, you’re goin’ in the moat.'
Meat Loaf's Own Account
Meat Loaf himself confirmed the incident in a 2003 Guardian interview, admitting he did call Andrew 'Jack'. He said: 'Fergie wasn't exactly flirting with me, but she was paying attention to me, and I think Andrew got a little—I could be wrong, I'm just reading into this—I think he got a little jealous.'
The singer said the late Queen 'hated' him because of the incident. Lownie adds that Ferguson urged Meat Loaf to 'steal Andrew’s panda mascot and stuff it down his trousers.'
