Prince William never liked Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s “bullying attitude” and felt he should be “banished from the institution” years ago, royal author Russell Myers told Newsweek‘s The Royal Report podcast.
The Prince of Wales is well known to have been a driving force behind the push for stronger action against Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
However, William’s aversion to his uncle goes deeper as he already viewed him as an “ignoramus” before the Epstein scandal came to light, according to Myers’ new book William and Catherine: The Monarchy’s New Era, out now in the U.S. published by Pegasus Books.
Myers told Newsweek‘s The Royal Report podcast: “Certainly, he made his voice known that Andrew should have no place within the monarchy, both publicly and privately. He should be banished from the institution.
“He should have no role within the family because he would be a stain on it. And certainly, if they were going to keep him close, as the late Queen and indeed Charles did for a couple of years in his reign, that was going to be a major problem.”
Why It Matters
Virginia Giuffre accused Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of sexually assaulting her in 2001 when she says she was a 17-year-old Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking victim. Giuffre filed a lawsuit in New York that Mountbatten-Windsor settled in 2022 for an undisclosed sum while denying liability.
Giuffre first said she was flown by Epstein to London to meet Mountbatten-Windsor in a February 2011 interview with The Mail on Sunday but it was not until October 2025 that King Charles III stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his royal titles.
In February Thames Valley Police opened an investigation into misconduct in a public office, following reports Mountbatten-Windsor had leaked confidential government documents to Epstein while a U.K. trade envoy. Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested and released under investigation.
Prince William’s View of Andrew
A palace source quoted in the book told Myers: “Long before he [Mountbatten-Windsor] was embroiled in the scandal, [William had] always thought his uncle was a bit of an ignoramus. He would question ‘what does he actually do?’, but it was more than that.
“He’d seen how Andrew behaved in front of staff, ordering people about, the aggressive or dismissive manner, they’d never seen eye to eye. William has a relationship with his cousins [Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie] … so he takes no umbrage with them, but there’s no love lost for Andrew or Sarah.”
Myers told Newsweek: “William’s view of his uncle has never been favorable, he speaks a lot about culture. William’s view of his uncle leaning into his privilege, entitlement in abundance, being rude to staff, having a bullying attitude. All of this had been seen and had been well known within the palaces.
“There’s certainly an acknowledgment from both William and Harry’s side that their uncle wasn’t a popular man, shall we say, within the palaces, and very different to how William and Catherine have treated their staff in the past.”
Prince William’s Influence Grows Through the Years
Giuffre said she was trafficked to Mountbatten-Windsor in 2001, when William was still just 19 years old himself and therefore not a driving force behind the decisions of the monarchy.
By the time of the emails currently being investigated by Thames Valley Police, sent in 2010, William was older but was preparing for his wedding to Princess Kate in April 2011. Pre-marriage, he was still not the powerful force in decision making that he has more recently become.
While he always held a negative view of Mountbatten-Windsor, his drive for a tougher stance within the family picked up pace following the BBC Newsnight interview that ended Mountbatten-Windsor’s royal career in 2019, Myers said. It was at this stage William began to view the issue with an eye to his own future role as king.
More recently, William was pushing to tackle his uncle even when King Charles III welcomed Sarah Ferguson, Mountbatten-Windsor’s ex-wife to Sandringham for Christmas in 2023, bringing her back into the fold.
“The sense of public revulsion as we’ve seen in the last couple of years and really reaching a crescendo in recent weeks tells you that he was right at the time,” Myers said. “Perhaps they wouldn’t have had to put out all these statements and hurriedly talk about stripping titles and what have you over the last few weeks if they had done what William had advised at the time.”
What Happens Next
Thames Valley Police are continuing their criminal investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. No decision has yet been made on whether to charge him.
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