Prince Andrew seen riding at Windsor after claims Queen is more 'affectionate' over him than Charles

Prince Andrew was seen enjoying a morning ride at Windsor Castle today amid new claims made in a documentary that the Queen is more ‘affectionate’ towards him than Prince Charles. 

Royal expert Clive Irving, author of the new biography The Last Queen, made the claims that the Queen, 94, is more drawn to Prince Andrew, 61, than his older brother.  

During the Channel 4 documentary Queen Elizabeth: Love, Honour and Crown, which aired last night, Irving claimed that the Queen has ‘never really understood’ her eldest son Charles, 72, – heir to the throne – and is ‘puzzled by him.’

He told viewers: ‘To this day, she’s more openly affectionate to Andrew and more forgiving toward Andrew than she is towards Charles.’  

Prince Andrew pictured wearing a face mask as he arrived out for an early morning ride at Windsor today

Discussing the different characters of the siblings, Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, called Charles ‘the polar opposite to younger brother Andrew’

Irving also claimed that Her Majesty is ‘constantly frustrated with Prince Charles’ who will ‘never live up to her sense of duty’.     

Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, also featured in the documentary discussing the different characters of the siblings. She called Charles ‘the polar opposite to younger brother Andrew’. 

She said: ‘He’s [Andrew] noisy, bumptious, very charming, when he wants to be. He can be arrogant and rude; he has some characteristics of his own father.’ 

Seward added that Andrew’s active service in the Navy, following Prince Philip, including piloting helicopters on missions during the Falklands War ensured he had returned ‘like a war hero, his mother was proud’. 

Prince Andrew donned a helmet and padded blue jacket as she headed out in the brisk weather conditions this morning

The Duke of York could be seen heading out horse-riding with two others at Windsor this morning 

Prince Andrew pictured out for an early morning ride at Windsor this morning 

She said that as first and second in line to the throne at that time, Charles and Andrew represented ‘everything the monarchy could be’. 

Irving went on to argue that no members of the royal family have ‘measured up’ to Her Majesty’s enduring sense of duty. 

He also claims that Prince William is the only royal who fully appreciates the Monarch’s ‘very dedicated sense of duty’, saying: ‘All those around the Queen never measure up to that at any point. Her own family has not measured up to that. Charles never measures up to that.’ 

The documentary claims to be an ‘in-depth examination of several dramatic conflicts between Crown and Family during the Queen’s long reign’ and begins with looking at the Queen and Prince Philip’s early romance in the mid Forties. 

Clive Irving, filmed during a recent interview about his latest book, The Last Queen, is one of many royal commentators who appeared in the Channel 4 documentary

Irving also said the Queen was more drawn to being ‘openly affectionate’ with Prince Andrew (Pictured: Prince Charles, Prince Andrew and the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2019)

This week, a source close to the royal family claimed Prince William does not believe he is ‘trapped’ inside the system of the British monarchy, something claimed by Prince Harry during his interview with Oprah Winfrey earlier this month.

Instead, the Duke of Cambridge, who is second in line to the throne behind his father, has ‘accepted’ his role and ‘the path set for him’, royal sources say.

‘He is very much his grandmother’s grandson in that respect of duty and service,’ the source, who is close to both brothers, told the Sunday Times.