PRINCE Andrew has attracted a new controversy after a Sri Lankan ex-No 10 advisor claimed that the embattled Duke used 'n***** in the woodpile' slur during a Buckingham Palace meeting in 2012.
The top British Asian aide Rohan Silva, 38, who worked for David Cameron said he was left “reeling at the prince's use of language”.
Silva, a businessman and writer, said that he met Andrew seven years ago and asked him if he felt the government 'could be doing a better job' on boosting trade with the world.
Andrew then allegedly responded: "Well, If you'll pardon the expression, that really is the n***** in the woodpile", upsetting Silva.
A year earlier, Silva said he met the Duke of York and on that occasion, he allegedly told him: “You’ll never get anywhere by playing the white man.”
The above word is an offending term commonly used in Victorian Britain during the colonial period.
The N-word is among the most insulting of racist slurs, which has an association with slavery and oppression of black people in America.
The Sri Lankan-origin man told the Evening Standard: “I walked blinking into the sunshine outside Buckingham Palace, reeling at the prince's use of language.
He added: “For a long time afterwards, I kicked myself for not confronting the prince on his choice of words - and it's something I still regret today. After all, he clearly wasn't taken to task very often by the people around him, which meant offensive language went unchallenged.”
The latest claim will raise new questions about Prince Andrew’s judgment in the midst of the firestorm over his “car crash” interview with BBC Newsnight about his links to paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Silva is a British Sri Lankan, born and brought up in Wakefield.
He noted that it was the second time that the prince had used unacceptable language in his presence.
At a Buckingham Palace meeting last year, Andrew and Silva had been discussing European Union reform. Andrew reportedly said: “What you have got to remember is that you’ll never get anywhere by playing the white man.”
Anti-Racism protesters come out in support of refugees outside the Cladhan Hotel on September 13, 2025 in Falkirk, Scotland. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)