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While the Royal Family endeavors to adhere strictly to protocol, numerous members have still garnered reputations for being impolite.
For example, stories about Princess Margaret’s alleged cruel streak, as well as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s rumored treatment of staff, illustrate that anecdotes about the Windsors’ questionable behaviors have circulated for some time.
What has changed is how many of the details about their behaviour are made public.
In the past, revelations about the family’s less polite habits were only revealed years later.
This was often through the memoirs of palace staff who worked day to day with the royals and dared not speak ill of their employers.
But with the advent of the digital age, senior royals’ bad behaviour has increasingly been caught in hot mic moments.
Read on below as the Daily Mail looks back at the royals’ rudest behaviour.
Princess Margaret
Margaret had a ‘slightly sadistic streak’ which meant she could be ‘extremely demanding’ and ‘bad-tempered’ towards her staff
Queen Elizabeth’s sister, Princess Margaret, was known for her regal beauty, but her pampered life didn’t always reflect well in her behaviour.
According to a royal author, Princess Margaret was known for having a ‘slightly sadistic streak,’ leading her to be ‘highly demanding’ and ‘bad-tempered’ with her staff at times.
In his royal biography, “Yes Ma’am,” Tom Quinn wrote that Princess Margaret struggled to accept the need to alter her treatment of those who worked for her.
Royal staff members who worked for Margaret told Quinn that the princess had a reputation for being ‘extremely demanding and bad-tempered’.
Quinn recounts how Margaret would rush to check her television upon returning from an outing—if it was warm, indicating her staff had been watching it, she would fly into a ‘rage’.
She also had a strong dislike for having any of her personal items moved without permission and would scold a servant in front of others if this happened, which could be quite degrading.
Princess Margaret was known for her regal beauty, but her pampered life didn’t always reflect well in her behaviour
‘She didn’t care because she had, I think, a slightly sadistic streak or maybe wanted to hurt people because she had been hurt,’ a former staff member told Quinn.
The princess also had a tendency to berate her staff if they witnessed an argument between Margaret and her husband Lord Snowdon, often telling them to ‘Shoo! Shoo!’ or ‘Go on, bugger off!’.
Margaret’s outbursts were not reserved for just members of staff, with the princess also regularly berating her sister.
Lord Snowdon
Like husband, like wife, Lord Snowdon, who was married to Margaret for 18 years before the couple divorced in 1978, also had a reputation for being rude.
When Lord Snowdon went on the BBC’s Great Lives, which features guests speaking about figures who have inspired them, he chose Mini designer Alec Issigonis.
However, Radio 4 presenter Matthew Parris wrote in The Times how the radio show ‘evidently bored’ the earl.
When he arrived for the show in the afternoon, he reportedly demanded a glass of wine and seemed to have little interest in or knowledge of Issigonis. His behaviour made the presenter feel as though Lord Snowdon regretted even agreeing to feature on the show.
It isn’t the first time people have recalled experiences with Princess Margaret’s former husband.
Margaret with her husband – Lord Snowdon – in 1960. Like husband, like wife, Lord Snowdon, who was married to Margaret for 18 years before the couple divorced in 1978, also had a reputation for being rude
In 2020, Fern Britton said he was the ‘most spectacularly rude and uncooperative interviewee’ she had ever met.
She had watched BBC Two’s series Princess Margaret: The Royal Rebel and took to X to post about her experience.
The television presenter recalled: ‘Watching the documentary about Princess Margaret and Lord Snowdon on @BBC2.
‘I interviewed Lord Snowdon about 12 years ago and I can tell you he was the most spectacularly rude and uncooperative interviewee I have ever met. And I’ve met a few so, bravo!’
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson
Today Prince Andrew’s reputation is in tatters but, even as a young child, the late Queen’s favourite son was known as a troublesome member of the family.
Writing in his unauthorised biography about the Duke of York, author Andrew Lownie said: ‘Deprived of boundaries and rarely disciplined, Andrew quickly grew into the classic spoiled brat.
‘Aware of his high rank from an early age, arrogant and overbearing, he would order staff about and according to one member of staff be “a bloody nuisance”.’
Andrew as a child was known for pulling practical jokes which included putting itching powder inside his mother’s bed and creeping behind a member of the Queen’s Guard and tying their shoelaces together.
The prince’s most dramatic stunt involved climbing on the roof of the palace to change the direction of the TV aerial so the Queen could not watch her favourite horse race at Sandown Park.
Prince Andrew in April. Today, Andrew’s reputation is in tatters but even as a young child, the late Queen’s favourite son was known as a troublesome member of the family
A young Prince Andrew. Writing in his unauthorised biography about the Duke of York, author Andrew Lownie described Andrew as ‘the classic spoiled brat’
Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in 1986. Like her former husband, Fergie was also known for her rude behaviour towards staff. Lownie wrote that her ‘tantrums kept staff turnover high’
These pranks evolved into general unpleasantness towards staff.
Lownie claimed on one occasion Andrew became ‘incandescent with rage’ over a fillet of beef.
He said that Andrew shouted: ‘Who was the ******* idiot who cut the meat up?’ which sent the cook into the pantry in tears.
Like her former husband, Sarah Ferguson was also known for her rude behaviour towards staff. Lownie wrote that Fergie’s ‘tantrums kept staff turnover high’.
One aide told the author: ‘Car journeys are the worst.
‘She will sit on the phone screaming at employees and reduce everyone to wrecks. Then she will wonder why we are so unhappy.’
Prince Philip
During his long years of public service, the Duke of Edinburgh had his fair share of public gaffes.
One of his rudest took place during a photocall for the Battle of Britain, where impatient Philip was caught on camera telling the photographer to: ‘Just take the f****** picture.’
The Duke of Edinburgh, 94, seemed to lose patience at how long it was taking for the photographs to be taken at the RAF Club.
In the clip, he repeatedly said ‘just take it’ and gestured before dropping the f-word, after which laughter is heard.
Despite his gaffes, unlike Andrew and other royals, Philip was polite towards palace staff.
Despite his gaffes, unlike Andrew and other royals, Philip was polite towards palace staff
Speaking in 2018, actor Matt Smith, who played the Duke of Edinburgh in hit Netflix series The Crown, claimed Philip was ‘the one they all love’ because he is a ‘man of the people’.
The star also suggested ‘royal protocol’ had not ‘dogged’ Prince Philip in the same way that it had other members of the family.
‘In the royal house he’s the most popular of all of them. If you’ve talked to any of the staff, Philip’s the one they all love really. I think more than a lot of them, he’s a bit more of a man of the people.
‘The royal protocol hasn’t dogged him in quite the same way his whole life and there’s a sort of rebellion in him and a naughtiness and a cheekiness.
‘I think he’s quite affable and open by all accounts with the staff. They all love him.’
Wallis Simpson
Wallis Simpson in the 1950s. Royal biographer Philip Ziegler described her as ‘abominably rude’
Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson. However, opinions on the socialite were mixed.
Royal biographer Philip Ziegler described her as ‘abominably rude’, Andrew Lownie previously wrote in The Mail on Sunday.
He said: ‘The Duchess of Windsor was harsh, dominating, often abominably rude. She treated the prince at the best like a child who needed keeping in order, at the worst with contempt. But he invited it and begged for more.’
Andrew Morton previously wrote in the Daily Mail how an acquaintance of the couple, Lady Gladwyn, said: ‘She became rude, odious and strange.’
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as working royals the couple have been dogged by claims they were difficult to work with and downright rude to members of staff.
One of the most notable bust-ups was so bad that the late Queen allegedly intervened.
According to esteemed royal historian Hugo Vickers, there was ‘trouble’ while Harry and Meghan were living at Frogmore Cottage – close to Windsor Castle – between 2019 and March 2020.
In one incident, the Duchess of Sussex was so rude to an under gardener that the head gardener in Windsor felt the need to complain to the late Queen, who then drove over to Meghan to give her a dressing down.
Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as working royals the couple have been dogged by claims they were difficult to work with and downright rude to members of staff
Meghan on her wedding day. Her choice of headwear caused ‘tiaragate’ on the run-up to her wedding
‘The head gardener went to complain to the Queen and she told her off because she obviously didn’t like people being rude to staff,’ Mr Vickers told The Sun.
Meghan was also previously dubbed ‘Duchess Difficult’ by her staff after claims that she ‘terrifies’ and ‘belittles’ people. Claims of bullying which have been strenuously denied by Meghan’s lawyers.
Before the couple had even walked down the aisle they were already ruffling feathers through clashes with staff.
This included ‘tiaragate’ which saw the seemingly minor task of picking Meghan’s headwear blown up into a big bust-up between the soon-to-be Duchess of Sussex and Angela Kelly, the late Queen’s personal adviser for her wardrobe, royal writer Tom Bower claims.
‘Meghan alighted on a tiara sparkling with emeralds. Her choice was approved by Harry. Kelly suggested that its Russian origin made it unsuitable,’ Bowers wrote in his biography Revenge, which documents Harry and Meghan’s fall-out with the Royal Family.
Harry and Meghan in 2018. Before the couple had even walked down the aisle they were already ruffling feathers
Harry reportedly became angry with Kelly, leading to the prince receiving a dressing-down from his grandmother.
During the meeting, Harry was put ‘firmly in his place’ and warned by the Queen that ‘Meghan cannot have whatever she wants. She gets what tiara she’s given by me,’ The Times reported.
King Charles III
The King also has his fair share of stories about alleged rude behaviour.
Much has focused around his particular interest in the award-winning garden which surrounds Highgrove.
However, as the garden is so cherished by the King, his high standards have ruffled more than a few feathers among staff.
Last month, reports emerged that low pay and staff shortages, coupled with the monarch’s demanding attention to detail, had prompted an exodus of horticulturists employed to keep his Gloucestershire garden in good shape.
Over the past three years, 11 of the 12-strong gardening team have quit, including the head gardener and his deputy.
However, this is not the first time the green space has been at the centre of gardener-related drama.
King Charles III in the garden, which is his pride and joy, at Highgrove in June 2019
Writing in his book about Charles’s life – titled Rebel King – author Tom Bower recalls the time Sir Roy Strong had a testy encounter with Charles when he was invited to Highgrove.
Bower claimed that the King ‘summoned people to drive the two hours from London for even the briefest meeting’ but it was one few refused.
He wrote: ‘Roy Strong was summoned to advise on the cultivation of hedges. He spent days with his own gardener perfecting his ideas.’
‘At the end he submitted his employee’s bill for £1,000 – and was never asked to return, or even thanked. Strong had personally inscribed a copy of his book on gardening to Charles, but it was left in a waiting room rather than included in the prince’s library.
‘”He’s shocked by the sight of an invoice,” Strong noted. “So he likes people who don’t charge for their services”.’
On top of this, Charles’s unusual habit of travelling with everything but the kitchen sink when he visits guests could certainly be considered rude.
The King travels with a truck full of his furniture when he visits friends for the weekend.
Bower revealed the array of eclectic belongings Charles brought with him during a visit to the North East of England.
King Charles III, who travels with a truck full of his furniture when he visits friends for the weekend, sat at his desk in Buckingham Palace
These items varied from his own bed to his very own luxury toilet rolls.
Bower wrote: ‘He [The King] sent his staff ahead a day early with a truck carrying furniture to replace the perfectly appropriate fittings in the guest rooms.
‘And not just the odd chest of drawers: the truck contained nothing less than Charles and Camilla’s complete bedrooms, including the prince’s orthopaedic bed, along with his own linen.
‘His staff had also made sure to pack a small radio, Charles’s own lavatory seat, rolls of Kleenex Premium Comfort lavatory paper, Laphroaig whisky and bottled water (for both bedrooms), plus two landscapes of the Scottish Highlands.’
