Prince Andrew, Duke of York

Prince Andrew was born at Buckingham Palace in London on February 19, 1960, the third child and second son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.

He is the namesake of his paternal grandfather, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, who died sixteen years before he was born.

The Duke of York in 2013 By Titanic Belfast 

He was the first child born to a reigning monarch since Queen Victoria gave birth to Princess Beatrice in 1857, 103 years earlier. Andrew also named his eldest daughter Beatrice.

Andrew attended Gordonstoun school, in northern Scotland, which his father, The Duke of Edinburgh, and elder brother the Prince of Wales had also attended.

After graduating from Gordonstoun with A-Levels in English, History, and Economics, he chose to attend Britannia Royal Naval College at Dartmouth instead of pursuing university.

Prince Andrew saw active duty as a helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands War.  He flew on multiple missions, which included anti-surface warfare, Exocet missile decoy and casualty evacuation.

On March 19, 1986, Buckingham Palace announced Prince Andrew's engagement to Sarah Ferguson, daughter of Ronald Ferguson, the polo manager for the Prince of Wales. The announcement was made exactly ten years after Princess Margaret separated from Lord Snowdon.

Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey on July 23, 1986. Sarah Ferguson joined the British Royal Family as the Duchess of York.

The Duke and Duchess of York on their wedding day. By Elke Wetzig (Elya) - Wikipedia Commons

Prince Andrew became a father on August 8, 1988, with the birth of his first daughter, Princess Beatrice of York. She was born at 8:18 pm at London's Portland Hospital.  rincess Beatrice attended St George's School, Ascot, before studying at Goldsmiths College, graduating with a bachelor's degree in history. She has worked in the corporate and charitable sectors, and is currently the Vice President of Partnerships and Strategy at Afiniti.

His second child, another daughter, Eugenie, was born on March 23, 1990. Despite being a member of the royal family, Princess Eugenie has also pursued a career outside of royal duties, working in the art world and as a philanthropist.

By 1991, the marriage was in trouble, and the couple had drifted apart. After four years of official separation, the Duke and Duchess of York announced the mutual decision to divorce on May 30, 1996.

In 2001, the Duchess of York told an American magazine the marriage began to fail within a week due to Andrew’s naval duties.

Prince Andrew is a keen golfer with a low single-figure handicap. A member of the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews since 1992, he was the club's Captain between 2003 and 2004—during their 250th anniversary season. 

Prince Andrew was interviewed on the BBC television program Newsnight on November 16, 2019,, during which he addressed his association with Jeffrey Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender. The interview received considerable attention and scrutiny, as Prince Andrew faced criticism for his responses and for not expressing more empathy towards Epstein's victims. After the interview, Prince Andrew announced that he would step back from his public duties "for the foreseeable future" due to the controversy surrounding his connection to Epstein.

Following ongoing controversy regarding his connections to Epstein, and a lawsuit filed over sexual assault filed by Virginia Giuffre in New York State, Prince Andrew was stripped on January 13, 2022, of all his military affiliations and royal charitable patronages. It was reported that while Andrew retains the style of His Royal Highness, he would no longer use it in a public capacity.