Princes Charles, Andrew Aren’t Close Due To These People, Not Just Queen Elizabeth

Prince Charles and Prince Andrew didn’t grow up to be close. But the distance between the royal siblings was always blamed on Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

However, it has been revealed that two people played a crucial role when it came to Prince Charles and Prince Andrew’s lack of bond. In the book “The Firm,” royal author Penny Junor said that Prince Charles and Prince Andrew’s respective nannies had very different personalities.

“[Prince Charles’ nanny] Helen Lightbody was such a terrifying woman that the Queen kept out of the nursery while she was in charge. By the time the Queen had two younger children, Helen Lightbody had gone and Mabel Anderson, her deputy, and a much easier character, was in charge,” Junor said.

Her Majesty was good friends with Anderson so she didn’t feel the need to avoid visiting her younger children’s nursery while the nanny was around. And as such, the monarch was able to spend more time with Prince Andrew and Prince Edward compared to Prince Charles and Princess Anne.

According to Junor, the Queen’s relationship with her four children didn’t change much as they got older. At present, Her Majesty is still closer to Prince Andrew and Prince Edward compared to their older siblings.

Earlier this week, royal commentator Angela Mollard also talked about the relationship of the Queen and Prince Philip’s four children with each other. Mollard said that Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward are not close.

While speaking on the “Royals” podcast, Mollard also said that the royal siblings have very different personalities.

“They all get together and they’re all happy at family gatherings but there’s a lot of question marks over how much they see each other between times. Through the Andrew/Charles, Fergie/Diana years, that was very strange,” she said.

Mollard also noted the fact that three of the four siblings went through broken marriages and she can’t help but wonder how they supported each other during that time.