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Prince Andrew has been accused by a former aide of using the 'n-word' at a Buckingham Palace meeting.

The Duke of York, 59, is alleged to have made the racist remark in 2012 to a Downing Street adviser of Sri Lankan descent - however, Palace sources have denied the claim.

Ex-government aide Rohan Silva today made the allegation - days after Prince Andrew's 'car crash' BBC Newsnight interview.

Mr Silva said he asked the duke whether the government department responsible for trade “could be doing a better job”.

He alleged the Queen's second son responded: “Well, If you’ll pardon the expression, that really is the n***** in the woodpile.”

Palace sources categorically deny Andrew ever used the phrase, insisting he would never use such language, reports the London Evening Standard.

(Image: Getty Images)

Mr Silva, 38, told the publication, where he is a columnist: "I walked blinking into the sunshine outside Buckingham Palace, reeling at the prince’s use of language”.

He claims the meeting was attended only by himself, Andrew and a palace aide.

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."

Mr Silva, who was born up in Wakefield to Sri Lankan parents, alleged it was the second time that the prince had used 'unacceptable language' in his presence.

He claims in 2011 Andrew said: "What you have got to remember is that you’ll never get anywhere by playing the white man."

Mr Silva added: “I genuinely didn’t know what he meant, and the discussion moved on. But the phrase ‘playing the white man’ stuck in my head, as I’d never heard it before. So when I got back to my desk, I immediately googled it.

“The definition flashed up on my screen: an old-fashioned saying, used during colonial times, meaning that only white people can be trusted to follow the rules, unlike dark-skinned natives.”

The N-word is one of the most insulting of racist slurs. It is associated with slavery and oppression of black people in America.

(Image: PA)

The “n***** in the woodpile” expression came from the United States and was commonly used in the late 19th and early 20th century.

It is understood to have described fugitive slaves who hid in piles of logs as they fled north to Canada.

Tory MP Anne Marie Morris was suspended in 2017 for using the phrase during a meeting about Brexit.

At the time, then-Prime Minister Theresa May said the remark was "completely unacceptable."