Former Prince Andrew has seen his share of scandals over the years, but his reputational issues began far before his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. In Entitled: The Rise And Fall of the House of York, biographer Andrew Lownie dives into the ex-Duke of York's life, and in one chapter, he shares the story of Andrew's disastrous 1984 royal tour that landed him the title of "Twit of the Year."
In April 1984, the then-prince traveled to California for a four-day solo tour in support of a U.K. trade promotion called "Britain Supports Beverly Hills," and also on behalf of the British Olympic Association ahead of the Los Angeles games that summer. While the Foreign Office declared that the trip "had been a considerable success," calling Andrew "a fresh, modern, enquiring and caring personality" with a "special appeal to Americans," Lownie wrote that the truth "was rather different."
