Prince Charles and Prince Andrew have long been compared to each other, as the Queen’s eldest sons. Before the arrival of Prince William and Prince Harry, Andrew was second-in-line to throne behind his older brother, adding to the scrutiny of the two heirs to the crown. Their marriages to Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson also focussed the spotlight on the two siblings and their glamorous royal wives.
Andrew Morton, in his 1983 book “Andrew: The Playboy Prince”, delves into the younger days of the Duke of York, and writes how he was seen as a “mummy’s boy” compared to his older brother.
Mr Morton describes how the “inevitable comparisons began” when Andrew started serving on the aircraft carrier Charles had served aboard, HMS Hermes.
A senior crew member told Mr Morton: “Andrew is very likeable but he is very conscious of being a royal.
“He’s a bit of a mummy’s boy – you could never say that about Charles.
The Prince of Wales and Duke of York (Image: Getty)
Both Prince Andrew and Prince Charles sevred in the Navy (Image: Getty)
“Charles would never need encouragement to join in the fun and he certainly wouldn’t talk about girl conquests.”
Charles and Andrew both trained at the prestigious Dartmouth Naval College, like their father Prince Philip before them.
However, the unfavourable comparisons followed them there, too.
Mr Morton writes: “Prince Andrew was following in the footsteps of elder bother Charles, a firm favourite during his Dartmouth days.
“When Andrew first arrived, he was resented by some fellow recruits.”
One midshipman told the author: “[Andrew] played the big ‘I am the Prince’ routine all the time and seemed rather arrogant.”
Added to this, the wife of a Dartmouth instructor told Mr
