As one of Princess Diana’s close confidantes, her ex-bodyguard, Ken Wharfe, witnessed more behind-the-scenes than many palace employees ever would. The former Metropolitan Police Service officer worked with the late royal and her children between 1986 and 1993, and in a new interview, Wharfe says Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is “toxic” to the royal brand.
“I did, on a few occasions, have dealings with him in a professional capacity,” he said of the former Duke of York on the “Suddenly Single” podcast (via the Daily Mail). “And I found him to be one of the most arrogant individuals I've ever had the misfortune of meeting.”
Wharfe noted he'd kept comments about Andrew to himself until now, sharing, “Ever since the Epstein crisis that hit the Royal Family, I've taken a personal stand on this.” However, he shared that Andrew’s association with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has cast a shadow on the Royal Family—and the revelations have “only just begun.”
“The whole issue of the Duke of York, as he was, and now Mountbatten-Windsor, is excruciatingly toxic, and continues to be,” Wharfe said. “There isn't a day now, in the last six months, where there hasn't been a story surrounding the Duke of York, Windsor's association with Epstein, which has now brought into contact his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.”
Andrew, who formerly worked as a U.K. trade envoy, was arrested on February 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office after emails reportedly show he shared confidential documents with Epstein.
“It's a subject that, as yet, is not finished,”Wharfe added. 'It's only just begun, and who knows where this might end up?'
Entitled author Andrew Lownie also weighed in on the former Duke of York's arrogance in a recent interview with People.
"Status is everything to him—it’s his only sense of identity," Lownie told the magazine, adding that despite his misdoings, Andrew "thinks he’s anointed—that it’s deeply unfair people have turned on him."
