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A former royal employee says the habits of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson left staff "furious". The former prince and his ex-wife have been embroiled in the Jeffrey Epstein saga in recent weeks after appearing in email exchanges with the convicted sex offender in the latest release of the so-called Epstein files - which is not an indication of wrongdoing.

Former royal butler Paul Burrell said Andrew, who strongly denies any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and the former duchess used to "stay in bed for days" and hold "lavish dinner, lunch and tea parties" with friends which caused issues with exhausted staff members who reportedly preferred sticking to set meal times. He wrote in his new his memoir The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess: "But the staff were up in arms early in the marriage. From the beginning, the royal newlyweds refused to leave their martial bed. The maids weren't allowed to go into the bedroom to make the bed for days.

"The royal chiefs were furious to be making food like it was an á la carte restaurant. They were used to serving food to the Queen and the Royal Family at set times. It was too much. The staff rebelled and protests were made to the Master of the Household who informed the Queen of her staff's unhappiness.

"She had to intervene and put a stop to the lavish gluttony. After all, she despised waste, deciding in advance which food should be cooked for her each day. So why should Andrew and Fergie be different?"

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