Queen 'thought Princess Diana was better match for Prince Andrew', new book claims

Queen Elizabeth

is said to have thought

was "far better suited" to

than his brother Prince Charles.

The late monarch — who died on September 8, 2022 aged 96 — was initially delighted by Diana, but apparently had fears she would not be able to "differentiate"

' royal seniority from his personality.

Royal expert

makes the claim in her new book

, about the now-King Charles' relationship with his late mother.

The book states Diana went to enormous lengths to impress on the royals how much she loved the "magical" surroundings of the Queen's beloved

"beyond imagination", and said she loved fishing and shooting.

But it adds about the Queen's reservations about Diana's romance with Charles: "She wondered whether anyone that young

.

"And she couldn't help thinking that the Spencer girl would be far better suited to her younger son, Andrew."

Diana, born Diana Frances Spencer and who was killed aged 36 in August 1997 in a Paris car crash, is also said in the book to have "determinedly" set out to be the Princess of Wales.

Charles, 75, divorced Diana in 1996 after their notoriously stormy marriage and married the now-Queen

, 76, in 2005.

Prince Andrew's reputation has never recovered from his relationship with billionaire paedophile

or the allegations made against him by one of Epstein's sex trafficking victims,

, that the royal slept with her when she was 17.

Andrew has vehemently denied all claims made against him by Virginia.

Ingrid's book is due to be released on February 15 and is billed as "a vivid and portrait revealing of the real relationship between King Charles III and his mother."

A blurb for the biography says: "The relationship between the late monarch and her son, the King, has long been a subject of fascination... this is the story of how Charles was shaped and molded by his heritage.

"His mother was the woman he loved but could never be close to, and it wasn't until his mother's old age, he finally received the affection and respect from her he had craved for so long."