Prince Andrew, Duke of York Biography

Prince Andrew was born Andrew Albert Christian Edward on February 19, 1960, in the ‘Belgian Suite’ of the famous ‘Buckingham Palace,’ London, United Kingdom. He was baptized by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Geoffrey Fisher on April 8, 1960, in the palace’s ‘Music Room.’

Andrew’s education began at the palace, where he was taught by a governess. He was later enrolled at ‘Heatherdown School’ in Berkshire and then attended the prestigious ‘Gordonstoun School’ in Scotland, where his father and older brother had studied before. After spending two years at ‘Gordonstoun School,’ he enrolled himself at ‘Britannia Royal Naval College’ in Dartmouth.

In November 1978, it was announced that Prince Andrew will join the ‘Royal Navy,’ for which he took various tests at several places. In 1979, he got himself enrolled at ‘Royal Naval College Flight,’ where he underwent pilot training and was eventually accepted as a trainee pilot. On September 1, 1979, he was appointed as a midshipman.

He then underwent various levels of training, beginning with elementary flying training at Royal Air Force Leeming. He then learned to operate a Gazelle helicopter as part of his basic flying training at HMS Seahawk. He also learned to fly the ‘Sea King’ helicopter and underwent operational flying training for a couple of years.

On April 2, 1982, The Falkland Islands, situated in the South Atlantic Ocean, were invaded by Argentina which led to the ‘Falklands War.’ Though Prince Andrew was initially deployed for a desk job, he was later allowed to remain in one of the operational aircraft carriers as per the Queen’s insistence.

During the war, Prince Andrew remained on board an aircraft carrier named ‘Invincible’ in order to serve as a co-pilot on one of the helicopters. At the end of the ‘Falklands War,’ Prince Andrew’s aircraft carrier returned to Portsmouth, where the vessel was welcomed by Prince Philip and the Queen, along with other family members of the crew.

On February 1, 1984, Prince Andrew was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant, post which he served as a flight pilot from one of the warships of the Royal Navy. He then undertook another course at RNAS Yeovilton and was then deployed as a warfare officer at RNAS Portland.

Prince Andrew, who had become the Duke of York by 1986, did not hesitate to take on different roles while serving in the Royal Navy. After serving as the Assistant Navigating Officer and as Officer of the Watch until 1989, he served as the pilot and as a flight commander on a warship called ‘HMS Campbeltown.’

On February 1, 1991, Prince Andrew became the Lieutenant-Commander of the Royal Navy and then served as the Senior Pilot of the then-largest flying unit ‘815 Naval Air Squadron’ from 1995 to 1996. On April 27, 1999, he was made the Commander and by 2001, he was relieved from services, marking the end of his active naval career.

On February 19, 2010, he was made Honorary Rear Admiral and then in 2015, he was made the Honorary Vice Admiral of the British Royal Navy. During his illustrious career, the Duke of York had also served as the Queen’s personal assistant, which is a prestigious post known as ‘aide-de-Camp.’

In 1999, Prince Andrew succeeded his father as the chairman of ‘Outward Bound Trust,’ a non-profit organization, and has since been working towards the betterment of the organization. From 2001 to 2011, he worked closely with ‘UK Trade & Investment,’ a government department that was in operation until July 2016.

Prince Andrew is a patron of one of the UK’s premier organizations, the ‘Middle East Association,’ which promotes good ties and trade with North Africa, Iran, Turkey, and the Middle East. He is also a patron of a charity organization called ‘Fight for Sight,’ which is funded research aimed at preventing blindness and eye diseases.

In 2012, Prince Andrew visited India, where he was fascinated by the work of the ‘Women’s Interlink Foundation,’ a charity organization aimed at helping women acquire the right skills to earn money with minimum investment. He later initiated a project called ‘Key to Freedom,’ which tries to find ways to market the products manufactured at ‘Women’s Interlink Foundation.’

On September 3, 2012, Prince Andrew became one of the 40 members to abseil Europe’s tallest building ‘The Shard,’ as part of a fund-raising campaign for the ‘Royal Marines Charitable Trust Fund’ and ‘Outward Bound Trust.’ In 2013, he became the patron of a couple of universities, namely the ‘University of Huddersfield’ and ‘London Metropolitan University.’

In 2014, he came up with an initiative called ‘Pitch@Palace,’ which allows entrepreneurs to pitch their ideas at ‘St. James Palace.’ The selected entrepreneurs are officially invited by the Duke of York and the entrepreneurs with worthy ideas will get an opportunity to meet with potential investors, business contacts, and mentors.

He also came up with another charitable trust, which works towards supporting young people to achieve their goals. He then founded many awards to recognize young talents in the field of entrepreneurship and other areas. Some of the awards founded by him include the ‘Award for Technical Education,’ ‘Inspiring Digital Enterprise Award,’ and ‘Young Entrepreneur Award.’

He is also a patron of organizations like ‘TeenTech’ and ‘Catalyst Inc,’ which work toward the betterment of science and technology. In 2014, he promoted British science while attending the 60th-anniversary celebrations of the ‘European Organization for Nuclear Research’ (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland.

In March 2019, he was entrusted with the patronage of the Outward Bound Trust. However, he resigned as the trust’s patron in November of that year. In May 2019, he took over as the  patron of the Royal Fine Art Commission Trust. In early 2022, it was declared that his royal patronages were given back to the queen and would be distributed to the other members of the royal family.

The Duke and the palace came under heavy scrutiny in 2011 as the Duke was seen spending time with his ‘friend’ Jeffrey Epstein. Epstein was convicted in the United States for soliciting a minor girl for prostitution. When the Duke was seen walking with him post his release, there was a widespread outcry, criticizing the Duke and the palace. In July 2011, it was reported that the Duke had cut ties with Epstein.

In January 2015, a woman named Virginia Roberts claimed that the Duke had a sexual affair with her when she was a teenager. The woman had claimed that she had met the Duke in 2001 during her trip to London and then again in New York. She even said that she was forced to have an affair with the Duke. However, the allegations have not been proven so far.

The Duke of York was also criticized for his repeated meetings with the president of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev. It was said that the Duke is a good friend of Ilham Aliyev, who has been criticized in the past for abuses of human rights and for corruption.

Prince Andrew was in a relationship with American photographer and actress Koo Stark. In 1982, they were spotted holidaying together on a private island called Mustique. However, they were under constant pressure from the press and the palace, which led to their separation in 1983. In 1997, Prince Andrew was made the godfather of Koo Stark’s daughter.

On July 23, 1986, Prince Andrew got married to Sarah, Duchess of York at the famous ‘Westminster Abbey.’ The couple was blessed with two daughters and led a happy life together. However, their marriage ran into trouble in the early 90s, which led to their amicable separation in 1992. On May 30, 1996, their separation was made legal through a divorce.

In 2003, a report from ‘Daily Mail’ suggested that the Duke might marry a businesswoman named Amanda Staveley. However, Amanda Staveley later said in an interview with ‘The Sunday Telegraph’ that she will not be marrying the Duke.

The Duke of York is an expert golfer and was the captain of one of the most famous golf clubs from 2003 to 2004. He is also a patron of many royal golf clubs. He is also an adventurer as he loves skiing. He even bought a skiing chalet in Switzerland, along with Sarah. Also, he often goes goose hunting along with Kazakhstan’s President Nursultan Nazarbayev. Over the years, he has developed strong ties with Kazakhstan and is a good friend of Nazarbayev.