The late Queen Elizabeth II apparently delivered a brutal one word reaction to her son Prince Andrew’s friendship with the now disgraced and deceased former financier Jeffrey Epstein.
A new biography by Gyles Brandret, a friend of Prince Philip, makes the claim about the Queen in ‘Elizabeth: An Intimate Portrait.’
Brandreth alleges that the Duke of York spoke with his mother about his relationship with Epstein and the Queen only replied with one word, “intriguing.”
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But unsurprisingly the author stated that the former monarch always "remained discreet and never said more than absolutely necessary", the Mirror reports.
Nonetheless, Brandreth said that the Queen showed no “hesitation” in deciding to take away Andrew’s royal roles when he became involved in the Epstein scandal, she said: “The Queen took a firm grip of things.”
A court senior reportedly told Brandreth: "There was only a few days between flash and bang. Action was called for and she took it."
It comes after reports King Charles summoned Prince Andrew to a tense meeting after hearing of his "persistent lobbying" of the Queen for a return to royal life, according to a source.
It was previously reported that Andrew was 'blindsided' by his older brother who told him he must accept he will never return to royal duties.
The disgraced Duke of York is said to have "always believed there was a way back" to his former role and thought he could "still be of value" to the Royal Family despite his association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Charles and Andrew reportedly held an early-morning meeting at the King's Birkhall estate in Scotland just days before the Queen’s death with the Duke of York's absence from future royal service confirmed.
And according to the Daily Mail's Ephraim Hardcastle column, Charles called the meeting after hearing of his brother's pleas to the Queen.
It says: "A source whispers that Charles had been tipped off by the Queen's senior staff that Andrew's persistent lobbying of the ailing monarch to restore him as a 'working royal' was taking its toll.
"Andrew knew that if his mother didn't rehabilitate him then all hope was gone."
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