Prince Andrew used to be seen as Prince Philip's favorite son – used to, anyway.
Family dynamics can be complicated, including the relationships between fathers and sons.
That's especially the case when the father and son are part of a royal family.
Prince Philip, the late husband of Queen Elizabeth II, and his son Prince Andrew have been long-rumored
to have a tumultuous relationship.
Back in the 1990s, when the royal family was making tabloid headlines all over the world
due to the dual controversies of Prince Charles' separation from Princess Diana and Prince
Andrew's divorce from Sarah Ferguson, Prince Philip was asked privately how he felt about
the dissolution of both of his sons' marriages.
He reportedly replied,
"Everything I have worked for 40 years has been in vain."
Yikes.
Even before the scandal that ensued when Prince Andrew divorced his wife, it was rumored that
Prince Philip would often lose his patience and even his temper with Andrew.
His wife Sarah, commonly known as Fergie, was said to be his biggest defender.
Back in 1986, journalist Sue Arnold wrote in the pages of Vanity Fair,
"Andrew's romantic escapades, together with [his] penchant for practical jokes, earned
him the reputation of Royal Lout-About-Town, a label that saddened his mother and annoyed
his father."
At the time, it was believed that Prince Philip actually admired Andrew's macho man attitude
and preferred it to Charles' sensitive soul-searching.
Even though he was thought to be occasionally frustrated by Andrew's antics, the thinking
was that he may have been something of a favorite son.
But more recently, Prince Philip found himself embarrassed and disturbed by his son's actions
when Andrew's association with convicted sex offender Jeffery Epstein came to light.
While the Queen reportedly encouraged her husband to remain uninvolved, the media circus
that ensued made it difficult for Prince Philip to ignore.
In fact, according to The Sun, the royal family was planning a 100th birthday party for Prince
Philip in 2020, and Andrew was meant to be involved as little as possible.
An unnamed inside source told the publication,
"There is a warning from up high to play down Andrew.
He will be included as little as possible.
... This is obviously proving difficult because he is his son and it's playing down his role
in the family."
Since Philip's death in 2021, the hits have kept on coming for Prince Andrew – and not
in a good way.
"Tonight, Prince Andrew served with legal papers in America – confirmation that even
a member of the British Royal Family is not above the law."
Due to his association with Epstein, and accusations of sexual abuse on his own part, the monarch
has been stripped of his military titles, meaning he is no longer able to use the term
"His Royal Highness."
This comes after a judge allowed a sexual abuse case against Andrew, filed by alleged
victim Virgina Guiffre, to proceed.
"He knows exactly what he's done and I hope he comes clean about it."
While the news is shocking to some, Andrew has not been fulfilling his royal duties since
the scandal came to light in 2019.
After Andrew stepped away from his royal duties, he was not seen by the public in any capacity
until his father's funeral in 2021.
Andrew, who reportedly was denied his request to wear an Admiral's uniform at the service
by his mother, according to Daily Mail, still told reporters afterwards that the family
was "rallying round" the Queen after their "terrible loss."
While news of Prince Philip's disdain for his son was often played out in the news,
the pair were said to be quite close when Andrew was young.
According to Nigel Cawthorne, who wrote the book "Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and
the Palace," Philip saw an instant "connection" with Andrew when he was born.
In fact, some in the royal family dubbed the two practically identical in their mannerisms.
The book also reveals that Philip seemed more protective over Andrew, and in return, he,
quote, "was not put out by his father's commands and bonded closely with him."
Andrew even followed in his father's footsteps by going to naval college instead of a university,
according to royal historian Piers Brendon.
Philip loved his time in the Royal Navy, and was passionate about naval history – an
affection that Andrew appeared to hold as well.
When he was born, Andrew was also the first child to be given the surname Mountbatten-Windsor,
which is in honor of Philip's last name, Mountbatten.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry also gave this surname to their son, Archie, as a nod to
the Queen and Prince Philip.
While Philip is no longer with us, Andrew has a long road ahead of him when it comes
to his legal woes.
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