Prince Andrew's demise 'a lesson for all spares' as royal warning issued

However, the anonymous staffer said that other "spares" and the "people who advise them" could benefit from advice to avoid any more royal scandals.

The close aide also blamed part of Andrew's decline on "others" who should "shoulder some of the blame".

"He grew up in a different era and then found himself suddenly helpless when judged by the standards of the 21st century," the aide told Fabulous.

"He had the biggest part to play in his own downfall, obviously, but you have to ask whether anyone around him over all those years should have taken him aside and told him to moderate his behaviour.

"You can beat yourself up about it but the truth is, I doubt he’d have listened.

"There’s a lesson for all spares to the heir in this, and the people who advise them.

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"These guys are expected to just get on and do the job but they’re often woefully equipped to do it.

"So it maybe falls to all of us around these people to do more of the heavy lifting, to try to keep them on the straight and narrow.

"The trouble is, at the end of the day, they’re adults. And they can be bloody obstinate adults."

The close source said Andrew faced "relentless criticism", in which a "lot was justified" but "some of it wasn’t".

They added: "He’s become a pantomime figure and I understand why. He painted an easy target on his back and for the most part didn’t even realise it - or if he did, he didn’t care.

"He comes from an era where he was the Queen’s son, for God’s sake.

"He was lauded and applauded. People bowed and scraped for decades.

"That’s got to affect your ego and I suspect he probably thought he was bulletproof."