Even the most seasoned royal watchers may not have expected the revelations that came from the serialisation of Andrew Lownie’s new book, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, in the weekend’s newspapers. The biography nominally focuses on the vagaries of Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, but judging from the excerpts released so far, there is embarrassment for much of the rest of the royal family, not least Prince Harry. The Duke of Sussex has now begun legal action against the Mail group for publishing some of the more scabrous stories: in his well-paid, much-used lawyers’ words, the newspaper has published ‘gross inaccuracies, damaging and defamatory remarks’.
Prince Andrew’s already tarnished reputation is likely to sink even further into the gutter
There are several attention-grabbing incidents relayed in the book, but perhaps the most notable is that Lownie has described a good old-fashioned punch-up taking place in 2013 between nephew and uncle. In his book, Lownie writes that ‘punches were thrown over something Andrew said behind Harry’s back’ because ‘Harry told [his uncle] he was a coward not to say it to his face. Harry got the better of Andrew by all accounts, leaving him with a bloody nose before the fight was broken up’.
While most might sympathise with Harry in this situation, the Duke of York got his own back a few years later, apparently telling the future Duke of Sussex that his marriage to Meghan Markle would not last a month. He allegedly said that she was ‘an opportunist and [that] she was too old for Harry, adding that his nephew was making the biggest mistake ever’ and accusing him of not having conducted any due diligence into who he was marrying. For good measure, Andrew apparently described Harry as ‘bonkers’.
Stories like this are all good gossipy fun, but will they stand up? Lownie has published bestselling and similarly attention-grabbing biographies of the Mountbattens and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. He has stated that the various stories within his latest book – which include revelations that Andrew’s friend Jeffrey Epstein sold his secrets to some of the most repressive regimes and dictators in the world – are double, if not treble-sourced. When it is published next week, the world will apparently be appalled by the various revelations of what Andrew and Fergie have got up to.
Certainly, public appetite for scandal and gossip when it comes to the less than grand old Duke of York is high. His already tarnished reputation is likely to sink even further into the gutter, especially if Andrew does not dignify any of the stories in the book with a refutation of any kind. That responsibility has instead passed over to his nephew, who has declared via his spokesman that:
I can confirm Prince Harry and Prince Andrew have never had a physical fight, nor did Prince Andrew ever make the comments he is alleged to have made about the Duchess of Sussex to Prince Harry.
It seems likely, on this evidence, that the ever-litigious former royal will be suing Lownie and his publishers when the book is released in its current form. Given the robust remarks that Dr Lownie has made on social media, he will be up for such a fight. Those with long memories might remember that the biographer engaged in a long, expensive battle with the government over the release of the unexpurgated Mountbatten diaries. Lownie claimed this had cost him the best part of half a million pounds, and he declared in 2023 that he had been spied on by cabinet sources. As he said then, ‘It’s made me even more determined to carry on researching and writing controversial books even if it doesn’t win me friends in high places.’
With the book racing to the top of the Amazon charts following the publication of selected excerpts, it promises to be another attention-grabbing bestseller. These will help with the inevitable costs of defending any legal actions that ensue. But will Entitled live up to the hype? You’ll have to wait for my review to find out – in The Spectator’s pages, naturally.
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