A journalist who travelled with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on a trip abroad has spoken about two comments the former Duke of York made that left her stunned. Catherine Mayer, who wrote about Andrew in her book Divide and Rule, describes what the former prince was like in his role as a special envoy for trade and investment for the United Kingdom.
Andrew's Role as Trade Envoy
Explaining how it was a role “devised for him” by the UK government and Buckingham Palace, Mayer talked about what it meant for Andrew’s work, but also how it showed his limited understanding of everyday life. She recounted two different comments to different people that demonstrated this disconnect.
The writer explained: “I had accompanied Andrew on one of his trade missions, the only journalist ever to do so. Royals are often disconnected from everyday realities, but the gaps in Andrew’s understanding of the world yawned startlingly wide.”
Comment to Beijing Students
Mayer recalled: “I heard him reassure students at Beijing University that western imports would not dilute Chinese culture. After all, Britons had consumed American culture for years without any appreciable impact.”
Comment to the Journalist
Mayer also discussed a second comment that surprised her, directed at her personally. She added: “On another occasion, he demanded to know why I was barefoot. He had apparently never noticed that his convoys set off as soon as he was seated, leaving anyone travelling at the back of the column to fling themselves at moving vehicles. I had lost a shoe in the process. He told me, for decorum, to wear the remaining one.”
Costs of Andrew's Envoy Role
This wasn’t the only time Mayer discussed Andrew in her book. She went into detail about the costs of his role as trade envoy. She explained: “Any benefits to the UK came with a hefty price tag: intensive preparations, transport and accommodation for Andrew and his entourage, and four royal protection officers for the duration.”
Furthermore, Mayer said that Andrew once told her he wished he could have been something else. She added: “One afternoon in China, he confided to me that he wished he could have been a plumber.”
Andrew's Changed Life
Catherine’s comments in the book come months after Andrew’s life changed significantly. Last year, in November, Andrew was stripped of his royal titles and lost the right to use the His Royal Highness style. He has also been moved out of the spotlight, from Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate to Marsh Farm on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, where he has been since April of this year. Andrew’s new home is located just a few miles from the small village of Wolferton.
