How Prince Andrew Made Girls Faint And Got ‘His Royal Heartthrob’ Moniker

These days, Prince Andrew is the perfect doting father to his two daughters, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie. But before transitioning into a dad, there was a time when he was quite a heartthrob and very popular with the ladies that he even prompted fits of fainting on the streets.

This happened back in 1982. By then, Prince Charles was already married to Princess Diana and, therefore, off the market for the ladies. On the other hand, Prince Andrew, the second in line to the throne at that time, was still very much available and highly sought after. It won’t be an exaggeration to name him the most eligible bachelor in England at that point.

His popularity peaked right after his return from the Falklands War, according to biographer Andrew Morton in his book “Andrew: The Playboy Prince,” which was published in 1983. It spawned a phenomenon that swept Britain, aptly called “Andymania” at that time, which was likened to Beatlemania.

It was Prince Andrew who was tasked to switch on the Regent Street Christmas lights that year, an event that drew in a massive amount of adoring crown. “It was only Andrew’s second public speaking engagement and the first time he had had to endure the ordeal of speaking live in front of the TV cameras,” Morton narrated. “If he was nervous it didn’t show.”

The prince, who was 25 years old at that time, switched on the lights and made a speech in front of the cheering crowd. He then went back inside, but his fans wanted more.

“The crowd chanted ‘We want Andy’ and ignored a police inspector who used a loudhailer in a vain attempt to get Andrew’s fan club to move in order to clear a path for the traffic which by now had formed a jam of epic proportions,” wrote Morton in his book.

Things quickly started to get chaotic, thanks to Prince Andrew’s fans. “Girls started screaming in anticipation if anyone so much as went near the balcony. Near hysteria gripped the tightly-packed throng,” recalled.

The biographer described what happened next as something that would normally happen in a concert and not at a Christmas light event. “Several girls fainted and had to be passed over the heads of others before they reached the safety of the crash barriers,” Morton wrote. “Shaken and bemused, they were comforted by policewomen who normally expect this kind of behaviour at pop concerts.”

The prince had no choice but to make an appearance to appease his fans. “When Andrew finally emerged on the street the crowd went wild,” shared Morton. “Andymania had hit Britain.”

The writer also noted that the event even added a new meaning to the HRH title, which originally means His Royal Highness. For Andrew, however, it could also mean His Royal Heartthrob.

These days, Prince Andrew might not be happily married, but he is nevertheless happy despite his divorce from Sarah Ferguson. Surprisingly, the two seemed to be closer and are spotted in several public events together, prompting speculations that they might be planning to remarry.