A former royal butler has made startling claims about the early marriage of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson, alleging that one particular habit left palace staff members furious and ultimately required the Queen's personal intervention to resolve.
Staff 'Up in Arms' Over Newlywed Behaviour
Paul Burrell, who served as a butler to Princess Diana for a decade and worked within the royal household for many years, has revealed in his new memoir that staff were deeply unhappy with Andrew and Sarah's behaviour during the early days of their marriage. The couple, who have recently found themselves embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein saga, allegedly caused significant disruption to palace routines from the very beginning of their relationship.
Refusal to Leave the Martial Bed
According to Burrell's account in The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess, the royal newlyweds refused to leave their marital bed for days at a time, preventing maids from entering the bedroom to perform their cleaning duties. This unusual behaviour reportedly created immediate tension within the household staff, who were accustomed to maintaining strict schedules and routines.
"The maids weren't allowed to go into the bedroom to make the bed for days," Burrell stated in his memoir. "When the couple did surface, they held lavish dinner, lunch and tea parties with all their friends."
Kitchen Staff 'Run Off Their Feet'
The former butler described how the couple's extravagant entertaining placed enormous strain on kitchen staff, who were reportedly "run off their feet" preparing meals at all hours. Burrell claimed that even the Queen didn't entertain as extravagantly as the newlyweds, and kitchen chiefs were furious at having to operate like an á la carte restaurant rather than following the palace's traditional meal schedules.
"They were used to serving food to the Queen and the Royal Family at set times," Burrell explained. "It was too much. The staff rebelled and protests were made to the Master of the Household who informed the Queen of her staff's unhappiness."
Queen's Intervention Required
Burrell alleges that the situation became so serious that Queen Elizabeth II had to personally intervene to put a stop to what he described as "lavish gluttony." The Queen, who reportedly despised waste and planned her meals carefully in advance, apparently questioned why Andrew and Sarah should be treated differently from other royal family members.
The former butler, who first worked as a footman to Queen Elizabeth before serving as King Charles's butler, suggested that Andrew was "never easy" to get along with, particularly for staff members trying to maintain palace protocols and traditions.
Buckingham Palace's 'Gin Palace' Nickname
In another revelation from his book, Burrell shared the hilarious two-word nickname that staff allegedly used for Buckingham Palace. Referencing what he described as a drinking culture within palace walls, Burrell wrote: "Forget Buckingham Palace, it was nicknamed 'Gin Palace' after the spirit that flowed freely through the everyday workings of the building. Gin, always Gordon's, was the drink of choice."
This latest insight into royal household dynamics comes from someone who became particularly famous as a confidante to Princess Diana, having worked closely with her from 1987 until her death in 1997. His claims about Andrew and Sarah's early marriage provide a rare glimpse into the tensions that can arise when royal protocols clash with personal preferences, even among senior members of the family.
