Prince Andrew was born at the Belgium Suite in Buckingham Palace on February 19^th 1960, the third child and second son of the Royal couple, he is fourth in line to the British throne. Being born to the reigning monarch, unlike his brother Prince Charles and his sister Princess Anne, who were both born before their mother was Queen, Andrew automatically from birth held the title of His Royal Highness The Prince Andrew.

As with the other Royal children his first seven years of education were received at the Palace before he attended Heatherdown Prep School in Ascot, Berkshire. Following in the footsteps of both his older brother Charles and his father Prince Philip, Andrew attended Gordonstoun in Scotland. After leaving Gordontstoun in June 1977 Andrew opted out of a university education in favour of enlisting in the Royal Navy at the Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, England.

When one of the British colonies, The Falklands, were attacked by Argentina in April 1982, Prince Andrew’s ship HMS Invincible, played a major part in the Royal Naval Taskforce that was maneuvered to the area during the conflict which ended on June 14^th 1982, when Britain regained sovereignty of the Islands.

Following many relationships with what were viewed as ‘unsuitable women’ such as actress Koo Stark, it was 1986 that put an end to the Playboy Prince’s activities when he became engaged to Sarah Ferguson and later married her on July 23^rd 1986 at Westminster Abbey. On the day of their marriage the Queen bestowed the title of Duke of York on Andrew and Duchess of York on Sarah Ferguson.

The marriage of Andrew and Sarah was seen as a bright light in the days of obviously tension in the marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana but it wasn’t long before chinks began to appear in this royal marriage too. With the Prince being away so often with his naval commitments, leaving Sarah alone, the couple decided in 1992 to part company. But not before the birth of their two daughters, the Princesses Eugene and Beatrice. Their parting was amicable and joint custody was awarded for the two princesses.

Andrew has always had a huge passion for golf and has a handicap of seven and has played as an amateur in many tournaments.In February 2002, following the attacks on The World Trade Center,

Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York was honored by Queen Elizabeth II and became a knight of the British Empire. This is one of the honors, which a British monarch can bestow on non British citizens and Prince Andrew was present to shake the hand of the new Knight.

ABB