Prince Harry’s Friend Says the Duke Always Had a ‘Prince Andrew Complex;’ It Was a Major Concern for Him
Prince Harry and Prince Andrew have quite a few things in common. They were both born the younger brothers of the men who would be king. They also both stepped down as working royals and lost their royal patronages and honorary military titles, and they both gave “car crash” interviews to the BBC that they hoped would make them look better, but had the opposite effect.
Now, we’re hearing that throughout his life, the Duke of Sussex was concerned that he would one day become like his Uncle Andrew.
Prince Harry harbored a ‘Prince Andrew complex’ for years
According to one of Prince Harry’s friends, he had a “Prince Andrew complex” for several years.
As royal editor for the Sunday Times Roya Nikkah recently shared, “A friend of [Harry’s] once told me that while he was still a working royal, he harboured a Prince Andrew complex of slipping down the pecking order and becoming irrelevant.
“Harry has always been in such a rush to make an ‘impact’ because he thinks he has a limited shelf life before the public want to hear more from [Prince] George and his siblings, and he worried that after that, he’ll turn into his uncle.”
Nikkah then added: “Let’s be clear — Harry is certainly no Andrew, though they share a stubbornness that raises hackles in the royal fold. If [King] Charles is changing course with Andrew, he could also try giving it a go with Harry, who has let it be known that calls to ‘Pa’ go unanswered and he now learns about his father’s health from the newspapers.”
Nikkah’s comments, however, came just before Harry decided to sit down with the BBC and claimed he wants to reconcile with his family while blaming his father for his court case being unsuccessful. Now, many royal watchers understand why the king and the rest of the royals want to steer clear of the estranged duke.
The BBC has since issued an apology for failing to “properly challenge” the claims made by the prince in the interview and admitted that it should have included responses from both the Home Office and Buckingham Palace.
Prince Andrew’s ‘car crash’ interview spelled the end of his royal duties
The Duke of York did an interview with BBC Newsnight in 2019. While what he was discussing was very different than his nephew as Andrew was attempting to clear his name following sexual assault allegations, some are drawing parallels between the two interviews.
When Harry said he has “forgiven” his family for everything they did to him, some said he sounded as out of touch with reality as when Andrew talked about knowing he was at a Pizza Express almost two decades earlier like it was two days ago.
Andrew’s “car crash” interview and the backlash that followed left his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, with no choice but to take away her son’s military titles and remaining royal patronages.
Buckingham Palace then released a brief statement saying: “With the queen’s approval and agreement, The Duke of York’s military affiliations and royal patronages have been returned to the queen.”
Prince Andrew reached a settlement with Giuffre in February 2022 for an undisclosed amount. On April 25, 2025, Giuffre died by suicide at her home in Neergabby, Australia.
