Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was 'never' Queen Elizabeth's favourite - but I wasn't expecting who was
The late monarch's former press secretary Dickie Arbiter believes that she had 'more time' for another one of her children
For years it's been speculated that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor held a unique place in his mother's heart, but this apparently wasn't the case at all. According to Queen Elizabeth's former press secretary, Dickie Arbiter, the late monarch actually "had more time" for one of his siblings.
Appearing on the Royal Exclusive podcast, Dickie described the former Prince as "arrogant" and "bombastic", whilst claiming "he was never the favourite". As per Express, he also accused Andrew of "repeatedly putting himself first to the detriment of everybody else", whilst Prince Edward has always had a quieter approach.
This reportedly won the approval of Queen Elizabeth, with Dickie alleging, "He went about life quietly without pushing himself and he's doing a tremendous job today." Because of how low-key he is, many people might not have expected Edward to be the favourite - and I certainly didn't.
King Charles was raised as the direct heir in the royal line of succession and forged a deeply special bond with the Queen as a mother and a mentor, whilst Princess Anne shares her sense of dedication to royal duties and quick wit.
However, Prince Edward is the youngest of the four and Queen Elizabeth was there a lot more during his childhood compared to her elder kids, who were small when she was travelling a lot as a newly-crowned monarch.
Princess Margaret's former Lady-in-Waiting, Lady Anne Glenconner, has previously told OK! that it was "rather like she had two families" because when Andrew and Edward were born "she was able to spend much more time with them".
Andrew is only four years older and there were times when the Queen's love for him went against public opinion. In 2022 she chose him to personally accompany her to the Service of Thanksgiving for Prince Philip, even though he'd recently been stripped of his royal patronages.
However, Dickie isn't the only one who thinks Prince Edward was the true favourite when it came down to it. In The Queen, biographer Matthew Dennison alleged he was "always" Elizabeth and Philip's favourite and recalled the late Duke of Edinburgh's reaction when their son opted out of the Royal Marines without completing training.
"To the surprise of some, Prince Philip (Edward's father and Captain-General of the Royal Marines) did not come down on his son like a ton of bricks," the author claimed. Instead, he "accepted that the Marines wasn't right for Edward - and to this day Edward is grateful for that."
Prince Edward is now Duke of Edinburgh and his wife Sophie was also very close to Queen Elizabeth. A royal source claimed to The Telegraph in 2021, "Sophie cherishes her relationship with the Queen and not only appreciates her guidance and wisdom throughout her own life, she is very protective of her. Their bond is very like a mother and daughter and the feeling of love and respect is quite mutual."
A year later, when his mother passed away, Prince Edward himself said in a statement she "left an unimaginable void in all of our lives."
"Sophie and I have taken huge pleasure in seeing our James and Louise enjoying the places and activities that their grandparents loved so much," he added. "Given that my mama let us spend so much time with her, I think she also rather enjoyed watching those passions blossom."
