Prince Andrew, Duke of York facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Prince Andrew |
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| Duke of York (more) | |||||
Andrew in 2017
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| Born | 19 February 1960 Buckingham Palace, London, England |
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| House | Windsor | ||||
| Father | Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh | ||||
| Mother | Elizabeth II | ||||
| Education |
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| Military career | |||||
| Allegiance |  United Kingdom |
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| Service/ |
 Royal Navy |
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| Years of active service | 1979–2001 | ||||
| Rank | Vice Admiral | ||||
| Battles/wars | Falklands War | ||||
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, KG, GCVO, CD (Andrew Albert Christian Edward; born 19 February 1960) is a member of the British royal family. He is the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and a younger brother of King Charles III. Andrew was born second in the line of succession to the British throne and is now eighth, and the first person in the line who is not a descendant of the reigning monarch.
Andrew served in the Royal Navy as a helicopter pilot and instructor and as the captain of a warship. During the Falklands War, he flew on multiple missions including anti-surface warfare, casualty evacuation, and Exocet missile decoy. In 1986, he married Sarah Ferguson and was made Duke of York. They have two daughters: Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie. Their marriage, separation in 1992, and divorce in 1996 attracted extensive media coverage. As Duke of York, Andrew undertook official duties and engagements on behalf of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. He served as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment for 10 years until July 2011.
Andrew resigned from public roles in May 2020, and his honorary military affiliations and royal charitable patronages were removed by the Queen in January 2022.
Early life
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Andrew was born in the Belgian Suite of Buckingham Palace on 19 February 1960 at 3:30 p.m., the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. He was baptised in the palace's Music Room on 8 April 1960.
Andrew was the first child born to a reigning British monarch since Princess Beatrice in 1857. As with his siblings, Charles, Anne, and Edward, Andrew was looked after by a governess, who was responsible for his early education at Buckingham Palace. He was sent to Heatherdown School near Ascot in Berkshire. In September 1973, he entered Gordonstoun, in northern Scotland, which his father and elder brother had also attended. He was nicknamed "the Sniggerer" by his schoolmates at Gordonstoun, because of "his penchant for off-colour jokes, at which he laughed inordinately". While there, he spent six months—from January to June 1977—participating in an exchange programme to Lakefield College School in Canada. He left Gordonstoun in July two years later with A-levels in English, history, and economics.
Military service
The Royal Household announced in November 1978 that Andrew would join the Royal Navy the following year. In December, he underwent various sporting tests and examinations at the Aircrew Selection Centre, at RAF Biggin Hill, along with further tests and interviews at HMS Daedalus, and interviews at the Admiralty Interview Board, HMS Sultan. During March and April 1979, he was enrolled at the Royal Naval College Flight, undergoing pilot training, until he was accepted as a trainee helicopter pilot and signed on for 12 years from 11 May 1979. On 1 September of the same year, Andrew was appointed as a midshipman, and entered Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth. During 1979 he also completed the Royal Marines All Arms Commando Course for which he received his Green Beret. He was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant on 1 September 1981 and appointed to the Trained Strength on 22 October.
After passing out from Dartmouth, Andrew went on to elementary flying training with the Royal Air Force at RAF Leeming, and later, basic flying training with the navy at HMS Seahawk, where he learned to fly the Gazelle helicopter. After being awarded his wings, he moved onto more advanced training on the Sea King helicopter, and conducted operational flying training until 1982. He joined carrier-based squadron, 820 Naval Air Squadron, serving aboard the aircraft carrier, HMS Invincible.
Falklands War
On 2 April 1982, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a British overseas territory claimed by it, leading to the Falklands War. Invincible was one of the two operational aircraft carriers available at the time, and, as such, was to play a major role in the Royal Navy task force assembled to sail south to retake the islands.
Andrew's place on board and the possibility of the Queen's son being killed in action made the British government apprehensive, and the cabinet desired that Prince Andrew be moved to a desk job for the duration of the conflict. The Queen, though, insisted that her son be allowed to remain with his ship. Prince Andrew remained on board Invincible to serve as a Sea King helicopter co-pilot, flying on missions that included anti-submarine warfare and anti-surface warfare, Exocet missile decoy, casualty evacuation, transport, and search and air rescue. He witnessed the Argentinian attack on the SS Atlantic Conveyor.
At the end of the war, Invincible returned to Portsmouth, where Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip joined other families of the crew in welcoming the vessel home. The Argentine military government reportedly planned, but did not attempt, to assassinate Andrew on Mustique in July 1982. Though he had brief assignments to HMS Illustrious, RNAS Culdrose, and the Joint Services School of Intelligence, Prince Andrew remained with Invincible until 1983. Commander Nigel Ward's memoir, Sea Harrier Over the Falklands, described Prince Andrew as "an excellent pilot and a very promising officer."
In late 1983, Andrew transferred to RNAS Portland, and was trained to fly the Lynx helicopter. On 1 February 1984 he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, whereupon Queen Elizabeth II appointed him as her personal aide-de-camp. Prince Andrew served aboard HMS Brazen as a flight pilot until 1986, including deployment to the Mediterranean Sea as part of Standing NRF Maritime Group 2. He undertook the Lieutenants' Greenwich Staff course. On 23 October 1986, the Duke of York (as he was by then) transferred to the General List, enrolled in a four-month helicopter warfare instructor's course at RNAS Yeovilton, and, upon graduation, served from February 1987 to April 1988 as a helicopter warfare officer in 702 Naval Air Squadron, RNAS Portland. He also served on HMS Edinburgh as an officer of the watch and Assistant Navigating Officer until 1989, including a six-month deployment to the Far East as part of exercise Outback 88.
The Duke of York served as flight commander and pilot of the Lynx HAS3 on HMS Campbeltown from 1989 to 1991. He also acted as Force Aviation Officer to Standing NRF Maritime Group 1 while Campbeltown was flagship of the NATO force in the North Atlantic from 1990 to 1991. He passed the squadron command examination on 16 July 1991, attended the Staff College, Camberley the following year, and completed the Army Staff course. He was promoted to Lieutenant-Commander on 1 February and passed the ship command examination on 12 March 1992. From 1993 to 1994, Prince Andrew commanded the Hunt-class minehunter HMS Cottesmore.
From 1995 to 1996, Andrew was posted as Senior Pilot of 815 Naval Air Squadron, then the largest flying unit in the Fleet Air Arm. His main responsibility was to supervise flying standards and to guarantee an effective operational capability. He was promoted to Commander on 27 April 1999, finishing his active naval career at the Ministry of Defence in 2001, as an officer of the Diplomatic Directorate of the Naval Staff. In July of that year, Andrew was retired from the Active List of the Navy. Three years later, he was made an Honorary Captain. On 19 February 2010, his 50th birthday, he was promoted to Rear Admiral. Five years later, he was promoted to Vice Admiral.
He ceased using his honorary military titles in January 2022. It was reported that he would still retain his service rank of Vice Admiral.
Personal life
Personal interests
Andrew is a keen golfer and has had a low single-figure handicap. He was captain of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews between 2003 and 2004—during the club's 250th anniversary season—was patron of a number of royal golf clubs, and had been elected as an honorary member of many others. In 2004, he was criticised by Labour Co-op MP Ian Davidson, who in a letter to the NAO questioned Andrew's decision to fly to St Andrews on RAF planes for two golfing trips. Andrew resigned his honorary membership of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews when the Queen removed royal patronages at several golf clubs. His honorary membership of the Royal Dornoch Golf Club was revoked in the following month.
Andrew is a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Shipwrights, the senior maritime City livery company.
Marriage to Sarah Ferguson
Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey on 23 July 1986. On the same day, Queen Elizabeth II created him Duke of York, Earl of Inverness, and Baron Killyleagh; the first two of these titles were previously held by both his maternal grandfather and great-grandfather. Prince Andrew had known Ferguson since childhood; they had met occasionally at polo matches, and became reacquainted with each other at Royal Ascot in 1985.
The couple appeared to have a happy marriage and had two daughters together, Beatrice and Eugenie.
The marriage ended in divorce on 30 May 1996.
Residences
As Andrew and Sarah shared custody of their two daughters, the family continued to live at Sunninghill Park (built near Windsor Great Park for the couple in 1990) until Andrew moved to the Royal Lodge in 2004. In 2007, Sarah moved into Dolphin House in Englefield Green, less than a mile from the Royal Lodge. In 2008, a fire at Dolphin House resulted in Sarah moving into Royal Lodge, again sharing a house with Andrew. Andrew's lease of Royal Lodge is for 75 years, with the Crown Estate as landlord, at a cost of a single £1 million premium and a commitment to spend £7.5 million on refurbishment. In March 2023, it was reported that Andrew had been offered Frogmore Cottage after his nephew Prince Harry was requested to vacate the residence. The offer came amid reports that Andrew could no longer afford the Royal Lodge's running costs as he was about to lose his annual grant.
Activities and charitable work
Patronages
The Duke was patron of the Middle East Association (MEA), the UK's premier organisation for promoting trade and good relations with the Middle East, North Africa, Turkey and Iran. Since his role as Special Representative for International Trade and Investment ended Andrew continued to support UK enterprise without a special role. Robert Jobson said he did this work well and wrote, "He is particularly passionate when dealing with young start-up entrepreneurs and bringing them together with successful businesses at networking and showcasing events. Andrew is direct and to the point, and his methods seem to work".
The Duke was also patron of Fight for Sight, a charity dedicated to research into the prevention and treatment of blindness and eye disease, and was a member of the Scout Association. He toured Canada frequently to undertake duties related to his Canadian military role. Rick Peters, the former Commanding Officer of the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada stated that Prince Andrew was "very well informed on Canadian military methods". He became the patron of the charity Attend in 2003, and was a member of the International Advisory Board of the Royal United Services Institute.
On 3 September 2012, Andrew was among a team of 40 people who abseiled down The Shard (tallest building in Europe) to raise money for educational charities the Outward Bound Trust and the Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund. The Duke of York lent his support to organisations that focus on science and technology by becoming the patron of Catalyst Inc and TeenTech. In 2014, Andrew visited Geneva, Switzerland, to promote British science at CERN's 60th anniversary celebrations.
In 2013, it was announced that Andrew was becoming the patron of London Metropolitan University and the University of Huddersfield. In July 2015, he was installed as Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield. In recognition of Andrew's promotion of entrepreneurship he was elected to an Honorary Fellowship at Hughes Hall in the University of Cambridge on 1 May 2018. On 19 November 2019, the Students' Union of the University of Huddersfield passed a motion to lobby Andrew to resign as its chancellor, as London Metropolitan University was considering Andrew's role as its patron. On 21 November, Andrew relinquished his role as chancellor of the University of Huddersfield.
In March 2019, Andrew took over the patronage of the Outward Bound Trust from his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, serving up until his own resignation in November 2019. Prince Andrew had held the position of chairman of the board of trustees of the organisation since 1999. In May 2019, it was announced that Andrew had succeeded Lord Carrington as patron of the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust.
On 13 January 2022, it was announced that his royal patronages had been handed back to the Queen to be distributed among other members of the royal family. In January 2023, it was reported that King Charles III had agreed to let Andrew pursue some business interests.
Initiatives
While touring India as a part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012, Andrew became interested in the work of Women's Interlink Foundation (WIF), a charity which helps women acquire skills to earn income. He and his family later initiated Key to Freedom, a project which tries to "find a route to market for products made by WIF".
In 2014, Andrew founded the Pitch@Palace initiative to support entrepreneurs with the amplification and acceleration of their business ideas. Entrepreneurs selected for Pitch@Palace Bootcamp are officially invited by Andrew to attend St James Palace in order to pitch their ideas and to be connected with potential investors, mentors and business contacts. In May 2018, he visited China and opened the Pitch@Palace China Bootcamp 2.0 at Peking University. On 18 November 2019, accountancy firm KPMG announced it would not be renewing its sponsorship of Prince Andrew's entrepreneurial scheme Pitch@Palace, and on 19 November Standard Chartered also withdrew its support.
In addition, the Duke founded The Prince Andrew Charitable Trust which aimed to support young people in different areas such as education and training. In May 2020, it was reported that the Prince Andrew Charitable Trust was under investigation by the Charity Commission regarding some regulatory issues about £350,000 of payments to his former private secretary Amanda Thirsk. He also founded a number of awards including Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award (iDEA), a programme to develop the digital and enterprise skills, the Duke of York Award for Technical Education, given to talented young people in technical education, and the Duke of York Young Entrepreneur Award, which recognised talents of young people in entrepreneurship.
Titles, styles, honours and arms
Titles and styles
- 19 February 1960 – 23 July 1986: His Royal Highness The Prince Andrew
- 23 July 1986 – present: His Royal Highness The Duke of York
As of September 2022[update], Andrew is eighth in the line of succession to the British throne. On rare occasions, he is known by his secondary titles of Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh, in Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.
In January 2022, it was reported that, while Andrew retains the style of His Royal Highness, he would no longer use it in a public capacity.
1979–1981: Midshipman, Britannia Royal Naval College, HMS Seahawk- 1981–1984: Sub Lieutenant, Pilot, 820 NAS on HMS Invincible;
- 1984–1992: Lieutenant, Pilot, 815 NAS on HMS Brazen; Helicopter Warfare Instructor, 702 NAS at RNAS Culdrose; Flight Commander, 829 NAS on HMS Campbeltown
- 1992–1999: Lieutenant Commander, Captain, HMS Cottesmore; Senior Pilot, 815 NAS at RNAS Portland; Directorate of Naval Operations, Ministry of Defence
- 1999–2005: Commander, Diplomacy Section of the Naval Staff. Released from the active list in 2001.
- 2005–2010: Honorary Captain
- 2010–2015: Rear Admiral
- 2015–present: Vice Admiral
Honours
Commonwealth
21 February 2011: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO)
- 2 June 2003 – 21 February 2011: Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO)
- 19 December 1979 – 2 June 2003: Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO)
23 April 2006: Royal Knight of the Most Noble Order of the Garter (KG)
1977: Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
1982: South Atlantic Medal, with Rosette
2002: Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
2012: Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
2022: Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal
2016: Naval Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
1990: New Zealand 1990 Commemoration Medal
2001: Canadian Forces' Decoration (CD) (with the first clasp)
2005: Commemorative Medal for the Centennial of Saskatchewan
Foreign
1988: Grand Cross of the Order of St. Olav
2010: Collar of the Order of the Federation
2015: Sash of the Order of the Aztec Eagle
2017: Order of Isabella the Catholic
Appointments
- 1 February 1984 – 13 January 2022: Personal aide-de-camp to the Queen
- 23 February 1987 – 27 April 2022: Freeman of the City of York
- 2007: Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
- 5 May 2013: Royal Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS)
- 20 February 2015 – 13 January 2022: Grand President of the Royal Commonwealth Ex-Services League
- 13 July 2015 – 21 November 2019: Chancellor of the University of Huddersfield
- 20 April 2016: Honorary Fellow of the Society of Light and Lighting (Hon. FSLL)
- 1 May 2018 – November 2019: Honorary Fellow of Hughes Hall, Cambridge
Former honorary military appointments
In 2019, Andrew's military affiliations were suspended and on 13 January 2022 they were formally returned to the Queen.
Canada
Colonel-in-Chief of The Queen's York Rangers (1st American Regiment) (RCAC)- Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Highland Fusiliers of Canada
- Colonel-in-Chief of the Princess Louise Fusiliers
- Colonel-in-Chief of the Canadian Airborne Regiment (disbanded)
New Zealand
- Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal New Zealand Army Logistic Regiment
United Kingdom
Colonel of the Grenadier Guards- Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Irish Regiment (27th (Inniskilling) 83rd and 87th and Ulster Defence Regiment)
- Colonel-in-Chief of the Small Arms School Corps
- Colonel-in-Chief of the Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th, 19th and 33rd/76th Foot)
- Colonel-in-Chief of the 9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince of Wales's) (disbanded)
- Deputy Colonel-in-Chief of the Royal Lancers (Queen Elizabeth's Own)
- Royal Colonel of the Royal Highland Fusiliers, 2nd Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland
Honorary Air Commodore, Royal Air Force Lossiemouth- Commodore-in-Chief of the Fleet Air Arm
- Admiral of the Sea Cadet Corps
Arms
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Issue
| Name | Birth | Marriage | Issue | |
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| Date | Spouse | |||
| Princess Beatrice | 8 August 1988 | 17 July 2020 | Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi | Sienna Mapelli Mozzi |
| Princess Eugenie | 23 March 1990 | 12 October 2018 | Jack Brooksbank | August Brooksbank Ernest Brooksbank |
Ancestry
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See also
In Spanish: Andrés de York para niños
