Andrew 'Bullied' a Cop and Demanded Taxpayer Security for His Daughters: Ex-Protection Officer
According to former royal protection officer Dai Davies, Andrew's alleged demand once cost taxpayers a hefty sum of $133,584.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor once enjoyed all the privileges of royal life, with taxpayers allegedly footing the bill for most of it. His glory days came to an end when he was banished from royal life over his controversial ties to Jeffrey Epstein. Now, his former royal protection officer, Dai Davies, claims that Mountbatten-Windsor once gave a tongue-lashing to a senior policeman, demanding his daughters be given round-the-clock security at the taxpayers' expense.
As per the Daily Express, Davies revealed that Mountbatten-Windsor allegedly 'browbeat' one of his predecessors over Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie's protection. Describing the ex-Prince as a 'bully,' Davies alleged that he had summoned the police officer to a meeting where he demanded that his daughters be provided with security from birth. Beatrice was born in 1988, followed by Eugenie in 1990, meaning they received 24/7 protection for about 23 and 21 years. The ripple effect? The extensive security arrangements reportedly cost the Metropolitan Police, Surrey Police, and Thames Valley Police hundreds of millions of pounds over the years.
Regardless of Mountbatten-Windsor's efforts, the sisters' protection was formally revoked in 2011 when Eugenie allegedly cost the taxpayers a hefty bill of $133,584. The eyewatering sum was the result of her 2008 tour to India, the US, South Africa, and Thailand. Weighing in on the same, Davies said, "She [Eugenie] was sort of flitting from country to country as most middle-class young people do who take gap years. But, of course, she was accompanied by police bodyguards. That meant that we, the taxpayers, were paying for policemen to accompany her to the fleshpots of the world."
After news of Eugenie's expensive trips made news, King Charles reportedly stepped in to curb her expenditure, only to be met with 'furious' pushback. Speaking on the Channel 5 documentary, Beatrice and Eugenie: Pampered Princesses, royal author Angela Levine spilled, "Prince Charles decided that as they [Beatrice and Eugenie] were not likely to be very senior royals, that this was too much for the public to pay, so he stopped that." She continued, "Prince Andrew was so angry that he wrote a note to the Queen. He said he wanted them to be considered as proper royals. He did not want the protection officers to leave them."
Davies and Levine aren't the only ones who have alleged that Mountbatten-Windsor seriously took taxpayers' money for granted. A former civil servant told the BBC that he was annoyed by the former Prince's repeated requests to cover 'massage services' on tours. He added, "I thought it was wrong… I'd said we mustn't pay it, but we ended up paying it anyway. I can't say it would have stopped him, but we should have flagged that something was wrong," claiming that when the issue was raised, it was reportedly dismissed by senior officials.
