New poll: Britons would remove Prince Andrew from line of succession
From dashing war-hero to absolute zero...Disgraced Prince Andrew is even less popular than Harry and should be cut from line of succession, says exclusive poll for Mail Royals!
- Almost eight in ten Britons would remove Andrew from the line of succession
- Calamitous fall from grace for Queen's favourite son and Falklands warrior
By Lucia Lamoury For Mailonline
Published: 16:28, 24 April 2023 | Updated: 16:28, 24 April 2023
Forced aside from Royal duties in disgrace, it's all-too easy to forget that Prince Andrew was once regarded as a dashing Royal warrior.
And today, the full extent of his fall to earth is revealed in an authoritative poll from The Mail's new Royals' section.
The Duke of York has taken a pummelling, faring even worse than Prince Harry and Meghan in national esteem.
Participants he was the least popular member of the Royal Family and the least deserving of an invitation to the Coronation on May 6.
A huge majority - almost eight in ten - said they would completely remove Andrew from the line of succession to the throne.
Prince Andrew has had a dramatic fall from favour.
Stripped of his honorary military roles he was denied the right to wear uniform as he followed the Queen's coffin at her funeral
And when when asked who should receive money from the Sovereign Grant - the public purse - only ten percent of people thought Andrew was worth paying (although, at 12 per cent, the Sussexes fared little better.)
Only two per cent of respondents felt that the third child of the late Queen has made a positive contribution to the United Kingdom, less than California-based Harry on nine per cent and Meghan on four per cent.
Forty per cent of participants said that Prince Andrew had done even more damage to the Royal Family than Prince Harry, despite the publication of his explosive memoir Spare earlier this year - although there was an age split with older respondents believing that Harry is more culpable.
Just over half of respondents said Andrew should not be allowed to attend the Coronation, compared with only eight per cent for his sister Anne and ten per cent for his younger brother Edward.
It has been a dramatic fall from grace for a man often spoken of as the late Queen's favourite child.
Serving 22 years in the Royal Navy, there was a time when he had the respect of the nation, particularly during the Falklands War in 1982.
Andrew served as a helicopter pilot in the conflict. At times his job was to fly his Sea King as a decoy to divert Exocet missiles away from ships.
His mother, The Queen had insisted he should play an active role in the War, even if that meant risking his life.
The extent of Prince Andrew's steep fall from grace has been revealed in Mail Royals' new poll
Once seen as a glamorous figure, Andrew serving 22 years in the Royal Navy, including a role in the 1982 Falklands War
The Queen gave Prince Andrew a rose upon his return from the Falklands in 1982 - which he promptly put in his mouth
Royal author Phil Dampier told MailOnline: 'When Andrew served as a helicopter pilot in the Falklands War he was undoubtedly very brave and in extreme danger.
'For the rest of her life she carried a picture in her handbag of him in naval uniform returning from the South Atlantic.'
But his badge of honour began to lose its shine after his marriage to the fiery Sarah Ferguson in 1986 ended in divorce.
The Duchess of York had been caught up in an unfortunate collection of embarrassing slip ups, including being photographed topless with her toes apparently being sucked by American businessman John Bryan.
Known as Randy Andy from a young age and linked to a string of beautiful women, the Duke had trouble finding female companionship while he was a bachelor for the second time.
ROYAL POLL RESULTS
- More than half the public (52 per cent) think the monarchy is good for Britain
- Nearly six in ten (59 per cent) believe Britain should remain a monarchy. Fewer than a quarter (23 per cent) favour a republic
- Just over half (51 per cent) think Britain will be a monarchy in 50 years
- Seventy one per cent think William and Kate are good role models, compared with 14 per cent for Harry and Meghan
- Nearly two thirds, 64 per cent, think Charles will be a good king
- A majority (57 per cent) believe Charles should continue to speak out on issues that concern him
- More of the public (50 per cent) believe Charles should have succeeded Queen Elizabeth than William (35 per cent)
- Nearly three quarters (73 per cent) think that Charlotte and Louis should eventually earn some money by working
- Nearly four fifths (79 per cent) would remove Prince Andrew from the line of succession. Sixty four per cent would remove Harry
- There is relatively little support for Camilla being called Queen, with 36 per cent saying she should be Queen Consort and 23 per cent favouring no title at all
Whether cavorting with topless women on holiday in Thailand or attending a 'hookers and pimps' party with Robert Maxwell's daughter, Ghislaine Maxwell, in the United States, he was rarely out of the headlines.
Labelled Air Miles Andy for his casual use of air travel, the Duke was appointed United Kingdom Special Representative for International Trade and Investment in 2001.
But he was accused of developing questionable friendships with disreputable figures and raised eyebrows over his connections to politicians in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tunisia, Libya and Turkmenistan.
Andrew quit his role as a trade envoy when pictures emerged of him walking in New York's Central Park with American financier and convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein in 2010.
Images also surfaced of the Prince with his arm around Virginia Giuffre, previously known as Virginia Roberts, who claimed that Epstein employed her as a masseuse but exploited her while under-age.
Giuffre has alleged she was forced to have sex with him three times aged 17 when under Epstein's orders - a claim Prince Andrew continues vehemently to deny.
Then came the car-crash interview with Emily Maitlis on Newsnight in 2019 - an attempt to damp down the controversy that blew up in his face.
While the Prince was reportedly 'very pleased' with the way the interview went, the reaction was overwhelmingly negative - not least because he appeared to show little concern for Epstein's victims.
The growing furore led the Queen to strip Andrew of his honorary military roles and he gave up his HRH style.
He has since been denied the right to wear his military uniform on a number of occasions, including wearing a morning suit as he followed the Queen's coffin for her state funeral while his siblings wore their military attire.
Although Prince Andrew denied allegations, last year he paid Ms Giuffre an out-of-court settlement - without admitting liability.
Sarah Ferguson, pictured at Princess Beatrice's school after the announcement of her separation from Andrew
A now-notorious of the Prince showing with his arm around Virginia Giuffre, previously known as Virginia Roberts. She claims that Andrew sexually abused her - which he vehemently denies
Andrew's 2019 Newsnight interview was in an attempt to dampen the controversy. But his performance was disastrous and he was forced to step back as a front-line royal
Andrew took a central role in escorting his mother to the Duke of Edinburgh's memorial service at Westminster Abbey last year
Andrew has warned that cuts to his grant could mean he may not be able to afford to live at Royal Lodge
The sum involved as been reported as high as GBP12million, but friends of Andrew say the actual figure was substantially lower.
Since becoming King, Charles has asked members of the family to tighten their belts and told Prince Andrew to expect cuts to his GBP250,000-a-year grant from the monarch.
This would leave him unable to afford the seven-bedroom Royal Lodge where he lives with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
But the prince continues to resist suggestions that he should instead live at Frogmore Cottage, now vacated by Harry and Meghan.
Andrew is said to feel bereft at the loss of his military titles and his role as a frontline Royal.
But it seems that, for now at least, the British public have little sympathy.
The exclusive survey by Deltapoll interviewed 1,569 British adults online between March 24 to 27. The data has been weighted to be representative of the British adult population as a whole.