The disgraced Prince Andrew is often cited as the favorite child of Queen Elizabeth II.
But the late monarch may have loved another of her sons more.
In a new biography, titled “The Queen,” royal author Matthew Dennison claims Elizabeth’s youngest child, Prince Edward, the Duke of Edinburgh, was actually the apple of her eye.
Elizabeth, who died last year at the age of 96, was mother to four children — King Charles, 74, Princess Anne, 72, Andrew, 63, and Edward, 59.
“Prince Edward, seemingly a bit wet and a tad irritating to the rest of us, was always his parents’ favorite,” Dennison writes in his new tome.
“That became apparent in 1987 whenEdward, aged 22, opted out of the Royal Marineswhen he was just a third of the way through his 12-month basic training course.”
“To the surprise of some, Prince Philip (Edward’s father and Captain-General of the Royal Marines) did not come down on his son like a ton of bricks,” the author continued.
The biographer added that the late Prince Philip “accepted that the Marine’s wasn’t right for Edward– and to this day Edward is grateful for that.”
However, royal correspondent Camilla Tominey also gave her opinion on the situation, saying she still believes Andrew was the Queen’s favorite child..
“Andrew was straightforward and the more glass-half-full of the pair [Andrew and Edward],” she told the Express
“Although he could be a bit of a handful, the Queen enjoyed the company of the easy-going son who could make her laugh and raise the family’s spirits,” Tominey added.
In recent years, Andrew’s life has been full ofscandals, especially his friendship with the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, as well as thepast lawsuitfiled against him by alleged sex abuse victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre.
In the A&E documentary, “Secrets of Prince Andrew,” released this past August, experts revealed that there was tension between Andrew and his older brother, Charles.
“[Prince] Andrew was an accident waiting to happen for years,” British biographer Andrew Lownie explained. “We know from Prince Harrythat the ‘spare’ creates an idea of resentment and jealousy,”
“Charles’ future was ordained and this set up tensions between Andrew and Charles. He thought Andrew had an easier ride at life,” he went on.
He remarked how Andrew was a prankster in his youth and “was indulged in the ways that the other children weren’t because boundaries were never set for him.”
Lownie stated: “Everyone talks about him not growing up. He’s a sort of Peter Pan figure and has been emotionally stunted.”
