Prince Andrew.Photo: STEVE PARSONS/POOL/AFP via Getty
Prince Andrew’s former maid is revealing one of the oddest parts of her job: spending an hour every day arranging his collection of 72 teddy bears.
Charlotte Briggs, who worked at Buckingham Palace in the 1990s, toldThe Sunthat she was tasked with the process of meticulously putting the stuffed animals in their place on the royal’s bed and around his room.
“As soon as I got the job, I was told about the teddies and it was drilled into me how he wanted them,” she told the outlet. “I even had a day’s training. Everything had to be just right. It was so peculiar.”
Briggs said there were 72 teddy bears from around the globe, many dressed in sailor outfits.
Prince Andrew.Chris Jackson/WPA Pool/Getty Images
Each day, she arranged the collection so that the biggest teddy bears were put at the back, then placed in order of size to the smallest at the front.
Then at night, Briggs or another maid used a diagram to put the teddy bears in their designated positions around the room. The small bears were stacked in an unused fireplace, while other stuffed animals — including two hippos and a black panther called “Daddy,” “Ducks” and “Prince” — were placed on the bed or around the room. Prince Andrew’s two favorite teddy bears were placed on mahogany thrones at his bedside.
“It was so odd,” Briggs said. “After all, he was a grown man who had served in the Falklands. But he absolutely loved the teddies and was very clear about how he wanted them arranged.”
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Andrew.Chris Jackson/Getty Images
According to The Sun, Prince Andrew reportedly said in 2010, “I’ve always collected teddy bears. Everywhere I went in the Navy I used to buy a little teddy bear, so I’ve got a collection from all over the world of one sort or another.”
Reporter Elizabeth Day wrote about one of Prince Andrew’s teddy bears in 2019 forYou Magazine, recalling an “oversized teddy bear” in a waiting area outside Andrew’s apartment when she interviewed him a decade earlier.
“When I was ushered in to meet Prince Andrew, I asked him about it,” she wrote. “He sniggered and told me it had been a wedding gift from his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson. Apparently, he had found the bear waiting for him when he got into the horse-drawn carriage that was to take them from Westminster Abbey to their reception.”
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Prince Andrew.STEVE PARSONS/POOL/AFP via Getty
Prince Andrew is currently facing a civil trialafter a judge refused to throw out a sexual assault lawsuit against him last week. Buckingham Palace has since released a statement regarding Andrew’s royal status.
“With The Queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen,” the palace announced. “The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”
Prince Andrew, 61, will likely retain his title as the Duke of York and keep his place in the line of succession to the throne, which is currently ninth behindPrince HarryandMeghan Markle’s two children. However, he will no longer use the style “His Royal Highness” in any official capacity.
source: people.com
