Her Majesty has never favouredPrince Andrew publicly, but it has long been assumed that the disgraced duke is the Queen’s favourite son. A royal biographer - Matthew Dennison – has claimed that Prince Andrew is not the Queen’s favourite son.
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The 96-year-old monarch had four children with Prince Philip – Prince Charles, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. The Queen may have a soft spot for Prince Andrew, however, the honour of her favourite son goes to – Prince Edward, reports Mirror.
In his royal biography, Matthew wrote:
Prince Edward, seemingly a bit wet and a tad irritating to the rest of us, was always his parents’ favourite. That became apparent in 1987 when Edward, aged 22, opted out of the Royal Marines when he was just a third of the way through his 12-month basic training course.
To the surprise of some, Prince Philip (Captain-General of the Royal Marines) did not come down on his son like a ton of bricks. He accepted that the Marines ‘wasn’t right for Edward’ – and to this day Edward is grateful for that.
Prince Philip’s top pick
The biographer not only claims that Prince Edward is the Queen’s favourite son but also believes he was the Duke of Edinburgh’s favourite son too. Especially after the Royal Marines opt-out incident. Royal expert Ingrid Seward, also previously confirmed that Prince Philip was rather very understanding of Prince Edward’s decision to drop out. Ingrid said:
Given his action-man image and his well-earned reputation for irascibility, many people assumed he was outraged.
Stories soon spread that harsh words had been exchanged between father and son; even that Edward had been reduced to tears by his father's anger.
The truth was quite the opposite: of all the Royal Family, Philip was in fact the most sympathetic. He understood his son's decision, which he considered a brave one, and supported him fully.
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