One of Queen Elizabeth II's closest advisers was ousted from the Palace at the behest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after he warned the monarch that her son's business dealings risked damaging the Royal Family, Whitehall sources have claimed.
Sir Christopher Geidt, who served as the late Queen's private secretary for ten years until his departure in 2017 following a power struggle, had been contacted in 2019 by highly placed informants who warned him about Andrew's business dealings with Russian oligarchs. A source said Geidt attempted to raise these issues previously but 'the Queen just doesn't want to know'.
The revelation is the latest suggestion that damaging intelligence about Andrew could have been suppressed by the royal household for years due to the Queen's affection for her second son. Last week, it was revealed that King Charles was warned in 2019 that the Royal Family's name was being 'abused' by Andrew's business associations, specifically his links to financier David Rowland.
Sir Craig Oliver, former director of communications for Prime Minister David Cameron, has also disclosed that in 2011, when questions were raised about Andrew's trade envoy role, a senior Palace adviser—understood to be Lord Geidt—described Andrew's performance as 'patchy' and suggested it was time for him to leave the role. Oliver noted that the Palace's strategy was to 'get through it with dignity', which he now sees as the seeds of the full crisis.
