The Prince of Wales reportedly tried to exclude his uncle from royal life years ago (Image: Getty Images)

Prince William tried to get his disgraced uncle, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, banned from royal life almost seven years ago following his disastrous BBC Newsnight interview, an explosive new book has claimed.

As revealed in extracts from William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, a new book by the Daily Mirror’s Royal Editor, Russell Myers, the Prince of Wales was at pains to stress how important it was for his father, the then-Prince Charles and his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, to take action on shamed Andrew.

Myers writes that William’s forthright approach to tackling the question of Andrew’s future within the Royal Family was fuelled by fears for his own future role and the repercussions which would surely be felt as a result of his ill-judged associations with paedophile Jeffery Epstein.

Andrew’s Newsnight interview was quickly branded a “car crash” (Image: BBC)

Prince William urged his father and grandmother to act (Image: Getty)

It was the interview where Andrew famously declared he had lost his ability to sweat during the Falklands War, that he was at a Pizza Express in Woking on the date that Virginia Giuffre claimed they’d had their first sexual encounter, and, where it has since emerged through the release of emails and files by the Department of Justice, that he lied about the date when he ceased contact with the convicted sex offender.

In his book, which will be published on February 26, Myers writes about Prince William’s immediate response to the scandal and the urgency with which he approached his father and grandmother about it.

Myers writes: “The interview was a disaster, not only for Andrew, whose reputation was in tatters, but for the monarchy at large. Suddenly, the palace was engaged in a full-scale firefight, with deepening questions over its relevance in a modern world, even its survival.

“In the aftermath, William spoke to his father to implore him and the Queen to take immediate action, fearing not only the public backlash but for his own future.

Russell Myers’ book will be published on February 26 (Image: Ebury Spotlight)

Prince William has a famously frosty relationship with his uncle (Image: James Veysey/Shutterstock)

“A source said: ‘Once you understand the fact that everything that happens in the here and now, affects everything in the future, William’s future, it is very easy to put yourself in his shoes. He never much liked his uncle and wanted him out of the picture immediately before the rot further set in.

“‘William’s view was that he [Andrew] got himself into the whole mess, so he should be left to his own devices to sort it out away from the family.’”

The release of Myers’ book comes after Prince William and Princess Catherine issued a statement urging the public to remember the victims as more damning allegations emerge from the Epstein files.

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Speaking to journalists in Riyadh at the beginning of William’s tour of Saudi Arabia this week, their official spokesperson said: “I can confirm The Prince and Princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims.”