A former Buckingham Palace maid has claimed Prince Andrew has a huge teddy bear collection and that staff were instructed to line them up in size order every day.
Charlotte Briggs says the Queen’s second eldest child had a whopping 72 bears and staff were given a whole day’s worth of training on how they should be arranged on his bed.
According to Briggs, the Prince insisted on the 72 soft toys being lined up on the bed from biggest to smallest, before then being rearranged at bed time, with staff spending an hour a day on teddy bear duties.
Speaking to the Sun, she said: “As soon as I got the job, I was told about the teddies and it was drilled into me how he wanted them.
“I even had a day’s training. Everything had to be just right. It was so peculiar.”
She added: “It was so odd. After all, he was a grown man who had served in the Falklands.
“But he absolutely loved the teddies and was very clear about how he wanted them arranged.”
Earlier this week, the Sun claimed that staff were given a diagram which showed how the Prince’s bed should be made up - including placement of teddies.
According to the diagram, Andrew would sleep in the bed with his five favourite soft toys - two hippos, a panther, a teddy bear wearing a necklace and another holding a heart.
Briggs said: “They each had a set place. We had to stack the smaller ones in an unused fireplace, again in size order, to make them look pretty.
“His two favourite bears sat on two thrones either side of the bed. The others would sit at the foot of the bed on the floor.”
Andrew has previously revealed that he collects teddy bears, back in 2010, he said: “I’ve always collected teddy bears.
“Everywhere I went in the Navy I used to buy a little teddy bear, so I’ve got a collection from all over the world of one sort or another.”
Andrew now lives at Royal Lodge in Windsor with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, but a suite of rooms are kept for him at Buckingham Palace for when he wants to visit.
Topics: UK News, Royal Family
Claire Reid