A royal author has alleged that William told the Queen his uncle had “no place within the institution.”

Prince William, Prince of Wales during his visit to the Francis Crick Institute at Francis Crick Institute; (Inset) Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor speaks on. Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Samir Hussein/WireImage; (inset) Victor Chavez

Royal author Russell Myers, while researching his forthcoming book William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, claims that the Prince of Wales took a firm position in the aftermath of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s now-infamous 2019 BBC Newsnight interview. That appearance, intended to steady the ship after Mountbatten-Windsor’s association with convicted felon Jeffrey Epstein became public, instead intensified scrutiny and backlash.

Activists from the anti-monarchy group Republic stage a protest at the gates to the Royal Lodge, where Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lived. (Image Source: Getty Images | Peter Nicholls)

Myers said that, in conversations with “several people,” he was told William had long viewed his uncle as problematic, believing “his uncle was always a bit of an ignoramus.” But it was the interview, in particular, that marked a turning point. “After that disastrous 2019 interview Andrew gave to the BBC’s Newsnight, in which he failed to apologize for his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, William had the foresight to say, ‘This man must not have any place within the institution, any place within the family. He must be banished because he got himself into this mess, and he must be banished before the rot sets in,’” Myers said in a recent interview with Fox News.

The author further claimed that William conveyed this view directly to Queen Elizabeth and to his father. At the time, the late monarch opted for a more measured approach, allowing Mountbatten-Windsor to step back from public duties rather than formally stripping him of titles and patronages.

Myers, in his book, also wrote that William saw the unfolding scandal as more than a reputational issue. He mentioned that the Prince recognized the monarchy was “engaged in a full-scale firefight,” with its credibility under serious threat. The book, however, suggests that William’s uncompromising view did not receive unanimous backing within the family. Both Charles — then the Prince of Wales — and Queen Elizabeth were reportedly inclined toward shielding Mountbatten-Windsor rather than cutting him adrift.Andrew Mountbatten Windsor and Prince William, Prince of Wales, attend Katharine, Duchess of Kent’s Requiem Mass service at Westminster Cathedral. (Image Source: Getty Images | Max Mumby/Indigo)

In the course of his research, a source told Myers, “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 set in further. 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.”