Prince Andrew depicted as lacking self-awareness and living on Planet Windsor in new royal biography

A new royal biography portrays Prince Andrew as lacking self-awareness and living on Planet Windsor, according to excerpts from Andrew Lownie s Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, published in 2025 after four years of research. The book details the duke s lavish lifestyle, extensive travel and ties to financier Jeffrey Epstein. It describes a 2004 five day visit to China—the first by a senior royal since 1986—as partly driven by British oil and gas interests and a Shanghai Grand Prix project. A diplomat involved in organizing the trip recalled that other royals traveled more simply, while Andrew arrived with a large retinue, insisted on staying in the Presidential Suite of a five-star hotel, and hosted a daily planning breakfast in his suite, signaling a self-important stance and limited interest in briefing or the country. Catherine Mayer, the journalist who accompanied the duke on the trip, is described as forming a close view of his behavior, with observers noting she was not always taken seriously and that some mocked the reference to Planet Windsor and a perceived lack of self-awareness.

In the chapter labeled Air Miles Andy, the book notes Andrew s liberal use of private jets drew criticism and overshadowed his role as the United Kingdom s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, a post he held for about a decade until 2011. In January 2005, the National Audit Office reviewed 41 journeys from the previous year and found a bill of about 325,000 pounds for helicopters and planes, including roughly 32,000 pounds on three trips to golfing events in St Andrews; in one case he flew an RAF jet to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club instead of a 254-pound commercial flight so he could finish 18 holes and rush back to London. The Daily Mail argued that while politicians also used private jets, Andrew s behavior risked bringing the monarchy into disrepute and called him a small bomb threatening the royal family. The paper noted that an inquiry into his travel costs exposed gaps in record keeping and that details were slow to surface under FOI requests.

Additional travel costs cited in the book include May 2003: a six-seater Queen s Flight aircraft costing 4,352 pounds to travel to the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews; June 2003: a helicopter charter costing 2,939 pounds for a 56-mile trip to Oxford; an eight-day trip to Uruguay, Chile and the Falkland Islands with a detour to Brazil costing 130,211 pounds, the highest total for any royal engagement at the time; February 2004: a helicopter to reach an engagement in Kent costing 3,321 pounds; March 2004: 3,662 pounds for a helicopter from Ascot to Warminster; a week in the Caribbean by jet from the Queen s Flight costing 107,239 pounds plus 17,288 in scheduled air fares and another 90,001 pounds for an RAF BAe to shuttle between islands. Comptroller and Auditor General Sir John Bourn is quoted as saying royal aides told him the prince preferred not to travel by rail because the service was unreliable, though other royals regularly used trains. The Daily Mail argued that such travel was feeding public scrutiny of the monarchy.

Since the book s publication, sources have suggested that incriminating emails between the Duke of York and Jeffrey Epstein are among hundreds of thousands of documents reviewed by the U.S. Congress before they are made public. David Boies, the lawyer who represented Virginia Giuffre, says there may be enough evidence to open a criminal investigation into the prince. Andrew has repeatedly denied Giuffre s claims that she was trafficked to him by Epstein.

The publication adds to ongoing discussions about royal travel costs and the public image of the monarchy, highlighting how a senior royal s private travel and business links can intersect with official duties.