In February 2026, a story spread online claiming that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — formerly known as Prince Andrew, Duke of York — once said the royal family was unable to play Monopoly together because "it gets too vicious."
The story spread when British police arrested Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his ties to deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor is the first British royal to be arrested in nearly 400 years.
The quote was correctly attributed to Mountbatten-Windsor. He made the comment in 2008 at the Leeds Building Society's newly-refurbished Albion Street headquarters, where he was presented with a version of the famous board game, ahead of the Christmas holidays.
"We're not allowed to play Monopoly at home. It gets too vicious," he said.
He did not elaborate on what game they did play. This statement was reported in The Telegraph and it was not clear whether he was joking or not, but it is safe to assume that he was making a lighthearted comment. A clip of Mountbatten-Windsor making this comment can be found in this 2011 video:
It is not known if this rule is still in place, or indeed if it was ever actually a family rule.