Revealed: The bizarre reasons Prince Andrew banished members of his staff - from a mole he 'couldn't bear' to look at and a nylon tie

Prince Andrew once banished a staffer because he 'couldn't bear' to look at a mole on his face, according to claims in an upcoming book. The Duke of York, 64, is said to have been very particular about how his staff look and dress over the years, as revealed in a new book by royal expert and journalist Tom Quinn, due to be published on February 18. The book, which details accounts from royal servants over the years, told how Andrew was 'bossy' and tended to 'act like a classic school bully' with staff - widely assumed to be down to frustrations he would never become king.

According to the book, several former servants recalled Andrew - said to be the late Queen's favourite son - insisting on removing a staffer due to disliking a mole on the man's face. Another occasion saw him arrange for the removal of a member of staff as he was wearing a nylon tie. In an extract from Yes Ma’am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants seen by FEMAIL, one servant recalled how Andrew would act 'frustrated' about not being the first born.

They recalled: 'A bit like his aunt Margaret, Andrew always behaved as if he was frustrated about not being the first-born and therefore destined to become king. This frustration made him a bit of a bully in private, I think. 'If he liked a member of his staff, he could be very loyal and supportive, but he couldn’t resist being imperious and bossy and bad-tempered if anything went wrong or wasn’t done exactly to his liking.'.

Prince Andrew (pictured) is the late Queen's second son and thought to be her favourite child. They added: 'Some members of his staff, I won’t say a majority, privately thought he was the classic school bully – just the sort of person who used to bully his brother Charles at Gordonstoun [Charles’s school].'. Although a former maid at Kensington Palace refused to name the prince in question, she said he would shout the naval order, 'Clear the decks', indicating that she had to 'scurry out of the room and make sure no staff were loitering between the prince and the lavatory he was planning to visit'.

He also liked to bounce a tennis ball off the walls, breaking expensive clocks and ornaments in the process. The maid also emphasised that the same prince would not allow staff with moles on their faces to work for him. The disgraced Duke has largely been forced to withdraw from public life in recent years over a series of scandals - with his weekly rides remaining a rare time he ventures into the public eye.

Andrew has been embroiled in a series of scandals over the years, such as his associations with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and, more recently, controversy over his links to an alleged Chinese spy. In recent weeks, Andrew has faced fresh pressure after it emerged he promised Jeffrey Epstein they would 'play some more soon!' weeks after supposedly cutting ties with the paedophile. In 2022, Andrew was accused of 'overbearing' and 'verbally abusive behaviour' towards Palace staff.

Paul Page has claimed he personally made three separate complaints to the Palace during the time worked in the Royal Protection Command from 1998 until 2004. He has earned a reputation for being imperious, bad-tempered and rude to his staff. A young Prince Andrew sticks his tongue out at Lady Leonora Lichfield during a clay pigeon shoot. An ex-staff member explained: 'A bit like his aunt Margaret, Andrew always behaved as if he was frustrated about not being the first-born and therefore destined to become king'.

And speaking to The Sunday Mirror, be said that he is aware of 'at least a dozen' other reports made by colleagues about the Duke of York. 'The Palace have a problem because there are instances and evidence of Prince Andrew being overbearing and verbally abusive,' he told the newspaper. Mr Page alleged his complaints during his time working for the Palace were ignored because senior courtiers wanted to avoid agitation, and called on officials to launch an investigation into the complaints in the same way they did with Meghan Markle.

'Buckingham Palace launched a bullying investigation against Meghan last year after she was accused of wrongdoing,' Mr Page, whose revelations in an ITV documentary sparked a string of complaints about the duke, said. 'If it's a fair organisation that looks after its staff, an investigation should be started to confirm whether or not Andrew is guilty of being a bully and of intimidating staff.'. He said that Andrew had a bed with '50 or 60' stuffed toys and maids were given a laminated picture so each bear could carefully be put back in its original position.

Other members of the household have said he made very little effort to be pleasant. One member of staff said: 'He was just dreadful — very happy to pick up the phone and shout at whoever answered it.'. In the Amazon Prime series A Very Royal Scandal, Michael Sheen (right) plays a pompous Andrew whose first scene sees him storming through the corridors of the palace, barking at a footman to 'f*** off'.