00:00I mean, there's an extraordinary episode in the book that you've uncovered
00:03where there's a physical altercation with the master of the household.
00:07Just tell us about that, because I was genuinely quite taken aback by that.
00:11Yeah, I mean, so was I when I heard about it.
00:13I mean, the master of the household is a very senior.
00:16He's the sort of the man in charge of all the staff, rather than the palace.
00:20And he's a very popular, he's a very distinguished man,
00:23Tony Johnston Burt, Vice Admiral, Falklands veteran like Prince Andrew,
00:27but went on to a very distinguished naval career.
00:31Helicopter pilot as well.
00:33And anyway, master of the household.
00:35So he's running everything from the sort of, you know,
00:38they've got the sort of the catering side of things and all the staff.
00:41And he has the biggest, it's the sort of biggest operation within the royal household.
00:46Anyway, Prince Andrew wanted a room for his pitch at the palace project.
00:51I thought you were going to say his teddy bears in that for a second.
00:54I don't know, they had their own room already.
00:59And he said he wanted, so Prince Andrew said, I need a room for my event.
01:06And the master said, well, you know, at the moment, they're all booked.
01:09You know, I don't know if there was a state visit or something coming up.
01:11You know, we can't do it, but, you know, we'll get you one when we can.
01:15No, no, I want an event.
01:16You are to give me an event.
01:18And he basically told her, you can't, you know, you can't just sort of do this.
01:22And he, we didn't quite know whether it was a punch or it was much more than a push.
01:29Anyway, it was described to me as a kinetic blow.
01:32Prince Andrew hit the vice admiral.
01:35And that's just so inappropriate.
01:39I mean, whoever it is, you just, you know, whatever level of staff, that just doesn't happen.
01:43And everyone was appalled.
01:45And obviously, I had to go through a new process and went all the way up to the Lord Chamberlain,
01:50Earl Peel, who's a great Lord Chamberlain, who actually referred it to the Prince of Wales.
01:57Again, everyone was sort of, look, let's leave the Queen out of this because it'll upset her.
02:04But, and then Prince Andrew rang up the Lord Chamberlain and said, I gather you've been causing trouble.
02:09And the Lord Chamberlain went to see him and said, you will not treat anybody like that ever again.
02:14And everyone was appalled.
02:15Prince Philip actually wrote a letter of apology to the admiral.
02:20And it finally, you know, some, of course, the Queen knew exactly what it was because she knew everything.
02:25And when it was finally relayed to her and someone sort of said, oh, but I'm sure he didn't mean
02:30it, ma'am.
02:30And she went, oh, no, no, it's the sort of thing he does.
02:32You know, she knew full well what he was like.
02:35But she dealt in gestures, if you like.
02:39You know, it was much sort of show, not tell.
02:41So I think what we can extrapolate from that is that within months of this incident,
02:47the master of the household was knighted.
02:49And he's still in post.
02:50And he's, I think, the longest serving one in three or four hundred years.
02:53And I think that tells you all you need to know.
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