Ex-Prince Andrew ‘bullying’ costs taxpayers millions
Andrew Windsor’s insistence that his daughters receive 24-hour police protection from birth is said to have triggered a security scheme that has cost British taxpayers hundreds of millions of pounds.
The controversy dates back to the late 1980s, when Andrew, now 66, reportedly pushed senior police officers responsible for royal security to guarantee his future children full-time protection even before they were born.
The apparent demand was said to have been made during a meeting at Buckingham Palace with the then head of Scotland Yard’s Royalty Protection Command. Princess Beatrice, now 37, was born in 1988 and Princess Eugenie, 35, followed in 1990. Both subsequently received 24-hour police protection, funded by public money, for more than 20 years.
Sources with knowledge of royal security arrangements say the meeting that initiated the policy was unusually tense.
A palace source said: ‘Andrew was absolutely determined that his daughters should be given the highest possible level of security from the moment they entered the world.
‘In his view, they were members of the royal family and therefore entitled to the same protection arrangements as the most senior figures in the monarchy, regardless of the cost.
“Those present at the discussions got the sense that this was not a request that could be negotiated, but an expectation that the system would simply meet.”
The source added: “There was a quiet disquiet among some officials responsible for royal protection about the extent to which the proposal went beyond established practice.
‘Normally, such extensive arrangements would have been carefully discussed and justified, especially given the enormous financial burden involved. But in the context of the time, very few within the hierarchy were willing to push back or question the insistence of a senior royal family, especially when the issue ultimately intersected with the wishes of the wider royal family.”
Another insider said: ‘After the decision was signed, it effectively locked the authorities into a long-term commitment that few people had fully anticipated. Granting that level of protection set a precedent that was both difficult to reverse and extremely costly to maintain. But Andrew was known as a bully, so he got what he huffed and puffed about.
“From then on, teams of police officers had to be assigned to the princesses day and night for years. Maintaining such an intensive security presence inevitably required significant manpower, travel and logistics resources – all of which were funded by taxpayers. Over time, the cumulative costs became enormous, which is why the scheme later received so much attention.”
The extensive security arrangements continued until 2011, when taxpayer-funded protection for the York sisters was controversially withdrawn. The decision followed mounting criticism after Eugenie’s gap year abroad racked up a security bill reportedly exceeding $133,000.
During the trip, Eugenie traveled to destinations including India, the United States, South Africa and Thailand, accompanied by police protection officers.
Reports at the time suggested that Charles, then Prince of Wales and now King Charles, 77, intervened to control spending.
The move is said to have infuriated Andrew, who is said to have strongly opposed the withdrawal of police protection for his daughters.
One source said: “Andrew has always viewed his daughters as integral members of the royal family and felt strongly that their status should be reflected in the level of protection they received. In his view, scaling back their security suggested that they were somehow less important than other members of the royal family, which he felt was both unjustified and potentially unsafe.”
Andrew was deeply unhappy when the decision was made to withdraw taxpayer-funded protections and made private efforts to have the policy reconsidered. There were behind-the-scenes discussions and calls for the measure to be reversed, but authorities ultimately stood firm and the scheme was not reinstated.
Today, the system that regulates royal security has become more severely restricted. Only the monarch, queen and prince and princess of Wales receive full-time police protection.
Other senior figures – including Anne, Princess Royal and Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, as well as Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh – will be given security when carrying out official duties rather than permanent protection.
Beatrice and Eugenie, who are not royals, now rely on privately funded schemes for the personal security they need.
