Prince Andrew secretly plotted with Princess Diana and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson to try to prevent Charles from becoming king and allow Prince William to ascend the throne with the Duke of York as regent, in explosive new biography claimed today.
Andrew is also said to have “influenced” the Queen and campaigned against the marriage between Charles and Camilla, now King and Queen Consort, by telling his mother she was untrustworthy.
Angela Levin’s new book about the life of Camilla, which has appeared in the Telegraph, claims the Duke of York was “very mean” to her and conspired with Princess Diana to prevent the Queen’s eldest son from becoming king .
According to his alleged plan, William, then a teenager, would have succeeded to the throne if the Queen had died, Charles expelled and Andrew made regent until the current Prince of Wales was 18.
Citing a “senior insider,” Ms Levin writes that the Duke of York “planned” with Diana to “push Prince Charles aside” with the goal of Prince Andrew becoming “regent to Prince William.”
“Andrew pushed very hard for it, hoping that Charles wouldn’t become king if his mother died and that William would wear the crown,” she said.
Ms Levin added the prince “lobbied very hard” to try to prevent his older brother from taking the throne.
Prince Andrew is said to have ‘influenced’ the Queen to try to position himself as Prince William’s regent
The prince is also said to have spoken out against the marriage of the current King Charles to Camilla
Andrew’s alleged conspiracy would have put William on the throne had the Queen died – with Andrew as regent
An “elderly insider” at the palace reportedly told Ms. Levin: “When Diana was alive, through her friendship with Andrew’s wife Sarah, [Duchess of York] She plotted with Andrew to push Prince Charles aside so Prince Andrew could become regent to Prince William, who was then a teenager.
“These were dark and strange times when paranoia became a reality and that was a worry.
The explosive claims can be found in Angela Levin’s new biography based on Camilla’s life
“His behavior was very, very negative and extremely uncomfortable for Queen [Elizabeth], who disagreed. I’m told that was one of the rare occasions when he didn’t get his way.
“Even so, he was apparently very angry that he couldn’t rule the country in any way. He remained so hostile to Camilla’s emergence and acceptance that it’s doubtful he was ever forgiven.
Buckingham Palace and representatives of the Duke of York have been asked for comment.
Ms Levin also wrote about the Duke’s animosity towards Charles’ marriage to Camilla, claiming that Andrew was “toxic” and “very angry” at the late Queen Elizabeth.
The insider said: “He tried to convince the Queen to stop Charles from marrying Camilla by being quite toxic, mean, unhelpful and very angry with Camilla.”
These claims allegedly included that Camilla was not aristocratic enough and untrustworthy.
In 1998, when Charles turned 50, a party was thrown, but the Queen and Prince Philip declined if Camilla was present.
Camilla’s close friend Lucia Santa Cruz said: “When Camilla was married to Andrew Parker Bowles, she went to Balmoral with him and joined the royal family. They got along wonderfully with her… But when the marriage failed and she was with Prince Charles, she was rejected and took all the blame, which was so unfair.
The Duke of York and King Charles have reportedly had a strained relationship over the years, which has soured dramatically since Prince Andrew’s ties to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein surfaced.
When Buckingham Palace announced in January that the prince would be stripped of all his military titles and patronage and that his sexual abuse case against Virginia Giuffre would be defended in private, it was believed that the incumbent king had been instrumental in influencing the decision.
The Queen is said to have always had a soft spot for her second son, the Duke of York
A palace insider told Angela Levin Prince Andrew was “toxic” and “very angry” towards Camilla (pictured after the church blessing of their civil wedding).
Princess Diana is said to have supported her son Prince William in ascending the throne before his father
At the time, palace sources said the “reckless and swift” decision had been “widely debated” within the royal family after Andrew’s failed attempt to persuade a judge to dismiss the civil suit.
Prince Charles and his son William were understood to have been “instrumental” in the move to force him out of his role as an active member of the royal family.
Charles reportedly spoke to his mother over the phone to share his thoughts on the decision.
An inside source at the palace said at the time: “It was a reckless and swift decision which will have been recommended by the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge and sanctioned by the Queen.”
It was later reported in February that Charles had told his brother to stay “out of sight” at official events.
Prince Andrew has since reached an agreement with Ms Giuffre in which he admitted no wrongdoing.
Angela Levin has previously published biographies of the royal family, including Prince Harry in 2018 and Prince William and Kate in 2015.
Her latest work, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall: From Outcast to Queen Consort, examines Camilla’s relationship with senior members of the royal family and how they have evolved over time.