A former diplomat has claimed that Prince Andrew had an "insane" set of demands when travelling abroad - including having a six-foot ironing board taken around with him.
Simon Wilson, a long-serving former member of the British Diplomatic Service, detailed the Duke of York's unusual requests in the new ITVX documentary, The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor.
For an official trip to Bahrain back in 2002, where Andrew acted as Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, he recalled how officials were given "whole raft of things that came out in advance of his visit".
This included a long list of staff coming along with him, as Mr Wilson said: "Prince Andrew always brought a large entourage with him. A private secretary, an equerry, a valet, a lady clerk and a business adviser."
But stranger still were some of the items Andrew claimed he needed for the journey, with discussions taking place at one stage to have an jumbo-size ironing board taken inside an embassy car.
He said: "We were shocked when a 6ft ironing board was trying to be negotiated into one of the embassy cars.
“I asked the valet and said, ‘this is insane’. And the valet’s reply was, ‘no one knows how to iron his Royal Highness’ trousers like me'.”
He also claims that notes were sent in advance advising of Andrew's dislikes in terms of food, and says he insisted on only drinking water at room temperature, with no ice allowed.
Issues also arose when the Duke was expected to deliver public speeches that had been prepared for him, according to Mr Wilson.
On one occasion, Andrew reportedly refused to get up to address a room at an official diplomatic event. When he did, the Duke allegedly tapped the ambassador on the head “two or three times" and said "this is the man who’ll tell you all about trade" before sitting down, leaving the room in silence.
Back in the present day, King Charles and Andrew's relationship has reportedly hit an all-time low after a furious row over a £30 million home.
The Duke has reportedly refused to bow to efforts to move him out of his current residence, the Royal Lodge.
This has led to a souring of relations between the brothers, reports claim, despite the fact that Charles has handed him the keys to Frogmore in an effort to get him to move.
