'I've met Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor - two things made him different from other royals'

A royal expert has spoken about his numerous encounters with senior members of the Royal Family, revealing two things that set Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor apart from the rest.

The disgraced former prince is now residing at Marsh Farm after being ousted from Royal Lodge, where he had lived since 2003.

Further damaging revelations surrounding his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, coupled with his arrest in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, have pushed him even further to the fringes of the Royal Family.

However, Robert Hardman, who has penned a new biography about the late Queen Elizabeth II, maintains that Andrew was always cut from a different cloth.

He recalled that his interactions with the former Duke were in stark contrast to those he experienced with his nephews, parents and siblings.

Royal commentator and author Robert, 60, who has covered 70 tours from Abu Dhabi to Ukraine, said: "Philip was fascinating and sharp - you really had to keep your wits about you. Ditto Charles. The Princess Royal is fabulous - I've followed her around and could barely keep up. William and Harry can effortlessly work a room, charming everyone and putting them at ease."

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph about his dealings with Andrew, he went on to add: "But Andrew just isn't as intelligent or as articulate as the others. As trade envoy, he was forever saying disobliging things and putting his foot in it.

"He'd be at a telecoms conference and suddenly come out with the line, 'What is Orange?'"

Robert's latest biography is entitled Elizabeth II: In Private. In Public. The Inside story - and it marks his sixth book about the Royal Family.

He discussed the Queen a century following her birth and suggested it was she who initially wished for her son to vacate Royal Lodge.

Robert said she "believed him" when he insisted he had severed connections with Epstein before his falsehoods were ultimately exposed and King Charles stripped him of the titles he was awarded at birth.

Regarding the Queen not being present to witness this, Robert added: "I think one of the blessings in all this is that the Queen wasn't around to live through the final degradation, and the brutal disgrace of a royal having their 'princedom' taken away."

The broadcaster and journalist also disclosed why the Queen possessed an "instinctive sympathy" for the "spare" Prince Harry.

He said she "always adored" her grandson and explained that her father, who was unexpectedly thrust onto the throne following his brother's abdication, was a spare, as was her sister, Margaret, whom she frequently championed.

Robert, who has covered the royals for more than three decades, suggested she was "conscious" that both Harry and Andrew had "clearly less defined roles" purely due to their status as second sons.