Former security chief calls Prince Andrew ‘an unpleasant character:’ Report

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Another staffer eventually became suspicious and the woman was arrested. He didn’t bother checking with Prince Andrew, who was home at the time.

Inside the woman’s handbag were maps of the lodge and other Royal residences. She was sanctioned under the UK’s Mental Health Act.

But one former protection lays part of the blame at Prince Andrew’s feet.

“Prince Andrew is a pain in the a*** and if you have ever worked with him, is an unpleasant character and the security were terrified of asking him ‘is anyone turning up?’,” Phillip Grindell told a security forum, according to the Daily Express.

He added: “And because they did not want to upset him, no one asked, and they assumed he must have an appointment and let her in. The security were terrified of asking him.”

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Grindell had a three-decade career with London’s Metropolitan Police, which culminated in overseeing the protection of the Royals.

But as Andrew spiralled down the drain with the shocking revelations of his friendship with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, his security was dialed back.

Another former Met Police royal protection officer, Paul Page, recalled similar experiences in dealing with Andrew — particularly when it came to female visitors.

Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, a close pal of the prince, came and went from royal residences to see Andrew and no one said a word.

“When I heard this it became blatantly obvious that the security involved were in the same position with Prince Andrew as I was 20 years ago, in that they were too frightened to question unidentified female visitors as it would always end in him abusing us for stopping them,” Page told the Daily Express.

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The latest revelation comes as Andrew’s future as a royal looks bleak at best.

King Charles and Prince William consider him a disgrace and embarrassment after his $20-million payout to Virginia Roberts, who claimed Andrew sexually assaulted her when she was an underage teenager. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Now, a new book claims Andrew’s only interests are golf, money, videos and women.

As a U.K. trade envoy, he possessed a demeanour that was “brusque to the point of rudeness.” One diplomat called him HBH — His Buffoon Highness — and would ignore advice, make inappropriate jokes and regularly refuse to keep to the agreed program.

Even at Buckingham Palace, the hubristic prince made little effort to be nice to staff.

“He was just dreadful — very happy to pick up the phone and shout at whoever answered it,” one former staffer said.

Another added: “He was not easy as an adviser to deal with. He was very arrogant indeed. That arrogance could have stemmed from a lack of self-confidence. He is not at all bright.

“The fact he lashed out and was very rude to advisers like me was down to a total lack of self-confidence, and [an awareness] that he could always run to his mother and say: ‘They are all being nasty to me.’”

bhunter@postmedia

@HunterTOSun