Palace staff revolted against serving ex-Prince Andrew, former butler reveals

Paul Burrell claims he witnessed Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s “entitled” and “pompous” behavior firsthand amid reports that a growing list of palace staffers have refused to serve the disgraced ex-royal.

Princess Diana’s former butler and Queen Elizabeth II’s one-time footman has released a new memoir, “The Royal Insider,” in which he details his decadeslong career as a servant in the British royal household and his encounters behind palace doors.

The 67-year-old told Fox News Digital he had a front-row seat to “Randy Andy’s” bad behavior as the late queen’s notoriously indulgent favorite son.

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The former Prince Andrew, Duke of York attends the Easter service at St. George’s Chapel on April 20, 2025, in Windsor, England. He lost his princely title in October of that year. (Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)

“I had lots of interactions with Andrew over the years,” Burrell said. “I saw his pompousness firsthand. He would tell people to ‘F off, get out of here, F off,’ which was obscene, really — the way he treated people.”

“I remember the staff revolting because they were kept up late at night,” Burrell said. “Andrew and Sarah would hold dinner parties in their rooms at Buckingham Palace. They’d use the queen’s staff and chefs, with extravagant menus that treated guests to three- or four-course meals — complete with puddings and starters — as if it were an à la carte restaurant.”

View of just-married couple Sarah, Duchess of York, and Prince Andrew, Duke of York, as they wave from the balcony of Buckingham Palace on July 23, 1986. (Derek Hudson/Getty Images)

“The queen got wind of it,” Burrell recalled. “She heard about it. The staff would be up until midnight cooking, serving and waiting on them. And she said, ‘This must stop. These are my staff. They’re not yours, Andrew, and you must treat them with respect. They’re here to look after us. It’s their duty to look after us, and we must appreciate that.’”

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“Andrew did get a ticking off from his mother,” Burrell continued. “But then they wouldn’t let the maids into the rooms to make the beds. They would stay in bed at all hours. They would abuse the system.”

“The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana” by Paul Burrell is out now. (Hachette Mobius)

Fox News Digital reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment. A palace spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital, “We don’t comment on such books.” It’s understood the palace does not speak for the former prince, as he is no longer a working royal.

Burrell’s remarks follow a report in The Sun that a lengthy list of staffers has opted out of serving Andrew, 65, at his new home.

Prince Andrew was officially stripped of his royal titles and honors by King Charles III on Oct. 30, 2025. He will no longer be styled “Prince Andrew” or “His Royal Highness,” and will instead be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. (Steve Parsons – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

“They’ve been told they don’t have to serve Andrew or work for him if they feel uncomfortable,” the source told the outlet. “There’s already quite a list saying ‘no, thanks.’ There’s understandably a lot of disquiet, as he is now viewed as a total pariah.”

British royals expert Hilary Fordwich told Fox News Digital that many staff members have said they find Andrew “creepy” or “disgusting.”

According to The Sun, there is a lengthy list of staffers who refuse to serve Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. (Karwai Tang/WireImage/Getty Images)

“This is literally a mutiny by staff who are extremely uncomfortable not only serving Andrew — given his scandalous behavior — but also because of the ghastly manner in which he treats staff and anyone he deems beneath him, which ostensibly amounts to everyone,” Fordwich said.

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Ex-Prince Andrew shares two daughters with his former wife Sarah Ferguson: Princess Beatrice (left) and Princess Eugenie (right). (Isabel Infantes/AFP via Getty Images)

“It is totally unprecedented for any royal — especially among senior royals — to experience such resistance, which really amounts to a strike,” Fordwich said. “There is also public outrage over this, despite King Charles saying he is paying for it out of his private funds, which the public still views as their tax pounds.”

Andrew has moved out of his 30-room mansion, Royal Lodge, ahead of the reported Easter deadline to vacate. He is temporarily staying at Wood Farm on King Charles’ Sandringham estate before relocating to his new home, Marsh Farm.

Paul Burrell is seen here accompanying Princess Diana in 1994. (Antony Jones/UK Press via Getty Images)

According to Burrell’s book, Andrew was so “besotted” with his then-wife that the kitchen staff had “run off their feet” serving the couple. They held lavish dinners, lunches and tea parties for their friends and, at times, refused to leave “their marital bed” for days.

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and Sarah Ferguson photographed at Buckingham Palace after the announcement of their engagement on March, 17, 1986 in London. (Tom Stoddart/Getty Images)

The staff reportedly “rebelled and protested” until the Master of the Household informed the queen of the unrest. Burrell also wrote that Andrew was “inconsiderate and rude” at best.

“He was so demanding that he kept a photograph of his collection of soft toys in a drawer in his bedroom to which the maids had to refer to ensure that they were in their correct place after they had made the bed,” he wrote.

Prince Andrew is seen here with his fiancée Sarah Ferguson at Buckingham Palace during Queen Elizabeth II’s 60th birthday. (Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

Burrell told Fox News Digital that the former Duke of York was “always greedy” and “wanted more,” believing he was “indestructible.”

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The former Prince Andrew and King Charles III attend the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II on Sept. 19, 2022 in London. (Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)

“He was always entitled — always — because he had his mother’s protection,” Burrell said. “Maybe our dear late queen was to blame for that because she never said no to her favorite son, Andrew. I think the reason for that is that by the time Andrew came along, she finally had time to be a mother. She was never a mother to Charles and Princess Anne — she was queen first. But she doted on Andrew.”

The royal family at Buckingham Palace, London, circa 1972. Left to right: Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth, Prince Edward and Prince Charles. (Fox Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

“Andrew could have anything he wanted because he spent a lot of time with his mother, and they got very close,” said Burrell. “And so, the queen was always the first person that Andrew went to.”

The former Prince Andrew was known to be incredibly close to his mother, the late queen. Numerous sources have said that the former Duke of York was her favorite son. (Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)

Burrell said Andrew’s father, Prince Philip, was the “guardian of the gate,” ensuring other senior royals didn’t bother the queen with personal problems. But after Philip died in 2021, “Andrew was the first there and by his mother’s side.”

Paul Burrell told Fox News Digital that Prince Philip made sure no other senior royal bothered his wife, Queen Elizabeth II, with their personal problems. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

“The queen must have been aware of Andrew’s character,” Burrell said. “She must have been — but she still protected him.”

In his book, Burrell wrote that Andrew made “life hell for the people around him.” Unlike his mother, he “never” respected palace staff who looked after the family because he always believed it was his right. And whenever Andrew needed financial help, he turned to his mother, who “was always there for her son — to save him from himself and from his mistakes.”

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor stepped back as a senior royal in 2019 but continued living in Royal Lodge, a 30-room mansion, until now. (Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

Burrell wondered whether Ferguson fell under the prince’s influence, noting that he openly relished a life of luxury.

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Sarah Ferguson is seen at a Paris event, date unknown. (PAT/Gamma-Rapho via Getty Images)

“I always said Sarah Ferguson was a farmer’s daughter — the daughter of the polo manager,” he told Fox News Digital. “Andrew told her she could have anything she wanted — and she did. She had everything. Everything she wanted, she had. So she became spoiled, and she became entitled, too. The two of them were well-matched.”

Sarah Ferguson, the ex-wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, is no longer styled as the Duchess of York. (Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)

In 2019, Andrew stepped back as a senior royal following a disastrous BBC interview in which he tried to address his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. King Charles stripped Andrew of his remaining royal titles and honors in late 2025 amid renewed scrutiny over his Epstein connection.

A photo of ex-Prince Andrew and Ghislaine Maxwell was found in the Justice Department’s release of Epstein files. (Department of Justice)

Ferguson, 66, who lost her Duchess of York title, has since left Royal Lodge. She had continued living on the property with her ex-husband despite their 1996 divorce.

In this photo illustration, a man views the Sarah’s Trust charity website on his smartphone on Feb. 3, 2026, in London. The charity, owned by the ex-wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, announced it will shut “for the foreseeable future” after “some months” of discussion. Three million new documents were released by the United States Department of Justice under the Epstein Files Transparency Act. (Photo Illustration by John Phillips/Getty Images)

On Jan. 30, the Department of Justice released more than 3 million pages of records related to Epstein, including personal emails. The former Duke and Duchess of York appeared in the newly released email exchanges and photos. Three images reportedly showed Andrew on all fours above an unidentified woman on the ground.

Inclusion in the files does not necessarily imply wrongdoing. Fox News Digital previously reached out to Ferguson’s spokesperson for comment about the Epstein-related correspondence. A charity founded by Ferguson has since shut down, and she has been dropped as a patron of several charitable organizations.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was featured in three new photos from the recent Epstein files drop. (Department of Justice)

“When the queen died, Charles inherited that problem,” Burrell told Fox News Digital. “I think the king knows more than we do — he knows exactly what’s coming because he’s controlling it now. Charles can be Andrew’s keeper — the controller of all his actions.”

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Queen Elizabeth II, England’s longest-reigning monarch, died on Sept. 8, 2022. (Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

“I think we should all remember that Andrew isn’t guilty of any crime,” Burrell stressed. “Accusations, yes. But we have also forgotten about the victims in this Epstein scandal, and they should be taken care of first. Andrew’s life and career are finished, as are Sarah Ferguson’s. … I truly believe we all have to pay for our sins — and Andrew and Sarah must pay for theirs.”