What Prince Andrew's Former Maid Said About His 'Ridiculous' Demands

Prince Andrew's former servant says he berated her about closing the curtains, leaving her in tears.

The Duke of York was recently stripped of his honorary military titles as he prepares for a Jeffrey Epstein-related sexual abuse lawsuit.

Following the bombshell decision, Charlotte Briggs told U.K. tabloid The Sun how the prince had a reputation for "tantrums and sweary outbursts."

She said he would call her up four flights of stairs to shut a set of curtains that were behind him and once shouted at her for not doing it to his standard.

Briggs told the newspaper: "He was a bit lazy and he would call down from his office and say, 'Can you send the maid to shut the curtains.'

"They were literally behind him and massive—from floor to ceiling and as high as a house. But he refused to get up and close them himself.

"I'd have to get on my evening dress, run up four flights of stairs and he'd be sitting there at his desk right next to them.

"One night I'd done it all, I walked back into the corridor and he came out screaming, 'Can't you f***ing do anything right?' I'd left a little gap where they met but they were extremely heavy.

"I was thinking, 'You want to shut your own curtains' but you can't say anything. You have to absorb it.

"It was awful and he brought me to tears. I was only 21 and had little life experience."

She added: "This man fought for his country in the Falklands but couldn't stand up to close his own curtains.

"It was utterly ridiculous but spoke volumes about him. Andrew definitely put a downer on things. He thinks he's above everyone."

The former maid started working at Buckingham Palace in 1996, the year Andrew divorced ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.

Following the break-up, the prince moved back to the palace where a position to be his maid became available.

She said: "Nobody wanted the job because of his reputation for tantrums and sweary outbursts."

Briggs' account came a week after revelations Andrew had such strict demands about the position of his teddies around his bed that staff were given a laminated map to help.

Ex-royal protection officer Paul Page told ITV documentary Ghislaine, Prince Andrew and the Paedophile how Andrew "would shout and scream" if the cuddly bears were not put back correctly.

However, Briggs said the demands did not stop at his teddies.

She told The Sun: "I'd looked after ladies-in-waiting and they'd just do things by themselves. They were lovely.

"But Andrew was extremely demanding. Everything had to be immaculate and he threw his weight around. I often tried to hide.

"I'd see him come out and hide behind the curtains and think, 'Right, he's gone.'"

She added: "The others were lovely. Charles and Edward, especially. They weren't anything like Andrew.

"I bumped into the Duke of Edinburgh in the corridor and he was so nice and gentlemanly.

"I was even hugged by Nelson Mandela. Andrew was a world away from him. You couldn't get a bigger contrast.

"Nelson Mandela appreciated everything he had and never underestimated the huge responsibility he had as a human being. Andrew was just entitled."

The revelations will be embarrassing for Andrew as he prepares to fight a lawsuit against Virginia Giuffre, who says he raped her while she was a Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking victim.

The duke attempted to have the case thrown out during a January 4 hearing but his lawyer's arguments were rejected by the judge.

He is set to be deposed by Giuffre's lawyers and a trial is expected at some point after July.