Prince Andrew remains 'blight' on the monarchy warn experts
Season four of The Crown is streaming on Netflix now and fans are curious to know more about the fact and fiction in the series. Queen Elizabeth II (played by Olivia Colman) and Prince Philip have four children together: Charles (Josh O’Connor), Anne (Erin Doherty), Andrew (Tom Byrne) and Edward (Alex Jennings). Is Prince Andrew really the Queen’s favourite child? Express.co.uk has everything you need to know.
Is Prince Andrew really the Queen’s favourite child?
In episode four of The Crown, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) had no qualms about personally admitting to the Queen her son Mark Thatcher (Freddie Fox) was her favourite child.
Thatcher had given birth to twins Mark and Carol Thatcher in August 1953.
In the series, Prince Philip openly admitted to her had no problem in sharing his favourite child was his only daughter, Princess Anne.
In the episode, the Queen said to Philip: “Who would do that? Openly admitting they prefer one child to another? Especially twins?” to which Philip responded: “Any honest parent”, before revealed Anne was his.
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Philip’s confession sent Elizabeth on a quest to bond with her four children, in a bid to discover if she also has a favourite.
However, when connecting with her children she realised they were bitterly unhappy in their lives, all but Prince Andrew.
Princess Anne discussed her marital problems, the Queen’s youngest Prince Edward revealed he was being bullied at school and Prince Charles complained about his impending marriage to Diana Spencer (Emma Corrin).
Following her one-to-one sessions with her children, the Queen discovered her clear favourite child was Andrew.
While the Queen has never actually publicly favoured Andrew, historians and royal commentators have believed this has been the case for a long time.
Writing in The Telegraph, Camilla Tominey, commented: “Andrew was straightforward and the more glass-half-full of the pair.
“Although he could be a bit of a handful, the Queen enjoyed the company of the easy-going son who could make her laugh and raise the family’s spirits.”
Andrew was born in 1960, amid rumours of marital problems between the Queen and Prince Philip, which may explain their closeness.
Royal biographer Lady Colin Campbell explained to The Sun: “The marriage had a rough spell but the birth of Andrew showed the Queen and Philip were back on an even keel.
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“Andrew was known as the love child and he was named after Philip’s father Prince Andrew of Greece as a tribute.”
She continued: “I think the special relationship began right there because the Queen always associated Andrew with the re-booting of her marriage and a happy time in her life.”
As seen in The Crown, Andrew served as a military helicopter pilot and fought in the controversial Falklands War.
He married Sarah Ferguson in 1986 and they have two daughters together, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
In 1992 they announced their separation and in 1996, they officially divorced.
In 2010, Andrew was photographed with Jeffrey Epstein, who at the time was a registered sex offender.
In November 2019, Prince Andrew suspended his public royal duties after receiving backlash from an interview with Newsnight, where he discussed his former friendship with Epstein.
He also denied, and continues to deny all allegations against him made by one of Epstein’s accusers, Virginia Giuffre, who alleges she was forced to have sex with the Prince on multiple occasions.
Andrew officially stepped down from royal duties in May 2020 as a result of his ties to Epstein.
Despite his resignation, reports in Vanity Fair and The Sun state Andrew and his mother remain close.
The Crown is streaming on Netflix now
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