Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has long been considered Queen Elizabeth’s favorite child, but in a new interview, royal biographer Robert Hardman has lifted the lid on why the late monarch paid so much attention to her second son. Speaking on the Daily Mail’s “Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things” podcast, Hardman said that Queen Elizabeth saw Andrew as “vulnerable” compared to King Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward.
“He was not as bright as the others, he could be boorish and everyone knew that,” Hardman said of the former Duke of York. Queen Elizabeth, however, tended to give Andrew the benefit of the doubt. Despite Andrew's numerous scandals involving Jeffrey Epstein, the late Queen never formally removed his Duke of York or prince titles, a move King Charles made in October 2025.
