By Molly Claire Goddard
11:11am PST, Feb 17, 2026
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According to an ex-friend of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York has maintained a sheltered existence. "He did not have much experience of the real world and did not even know how to use a [credit] card machine, which I thought was embarrassing for a man of his age," she told
Daily Express.
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The former pal — who is the ex-wife of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's army friend — wasn't left with the best memories of the now-disgraced royal. "Although he got on well with my then-husband, I found him to be rather aloof and arrogant," she said.
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Despite the lack of fondness for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, she claimed Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie were extremely well-behaved. "He had children the same age as ours, and they got on really well. Eugenie and Beatrice were both lovely girls," she said.
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Although Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson were divorced at the time, the woman claimed it was clear the 65-year-old still loved his former partner. "He had photos of her everywhere around the home. He was clearly very fond of her," she said.
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As Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor continues to be entangled in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, the ex-friend believes the signs of his strange ways were evident. "He was a known womanizer even back then," she said.