Prince Andrew spent Christmas away from the Royal Family’s Sandringham gathering and a royal expert has slammed his “poor judgement” after ex-wife Sarah Ferguson reportedly stepped in
A royal expert has claimed that Prince Andrew is “desperate to cling to power” after it was revealed that his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, allegedly persuaded him to skip the Royal Family’s Christmas celebrations. The 64-year-old duke reportedly spent Christmas alone with Sarah, 65, at Royal Lodge, rather than joining his family at Sandringham House.
As a result, they missed the traditional Christmas morning walk from Sandringham to St Mary Magdalene Church. Their eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, did attend the service with senior royals after changing their travel plans due to medical advice during Beatrice’s pregnancy.
Andrew’s decision to miss the celebrations comes after a year of negative headlines, including his ties to an alleged Chinese “spy” and an ongoing dispute over his future at Royal Lodge. The King reportedly wants Andrew to downsize to Frogmore Cottage, but the duke maintains he should stay at his property having signed a 75-year lease in 2003.
As part of the lease, Andrew is responsible for funding the property’s maintenance, but concerns have been raised about his ability to cover the costs. Royal Correspondent Katie Nicholl has criticised Andrew’s “very poor judgement”, suggesting that his presence at the Christmas walk would have diverted attention away from the senior royals.
She told Royal Beat: “I hate to say this but along with very poor judgement on Andrew’s part is, he seems hellbent on clinging onto that power that he had as the Duke of York and as a royal player, whether that is representing the family overseas or simply being there at Christmas.
“After that disastrous Newsnight interview, he was allowed at Christmas but he attended church with the late Queen before everyone else to avoid being the centre of attention or creating headlines for the wrong reason.
“The fact that his ex-wife, who he lives with at Royal Lodge, which is also a bone of contention because Charles wants him out of Royal Lodge, will be spending it quietly together is the right thing to do. But it shouldn’t take Sarah having to flag it to him.
“There should be some element of him just recognising that in order to protect his brother the King, [and] the Royal Family’s reputation at the end of a very difficult year, the dignified and graceful thing for him to have done is for him to have made the choice to sit it out. But he never seems to do that and it comes with a cost to the reputation of the Royal Family unfortunately.”
Prince Andrew stepped back from his royal duties and returned his HRH titles after a controversial Newsnight interview in 2019, amidst scrutiny over his connections with the infamous Jeffrey Epstein.
Earlier this month, the King’s younger brother found himself in the headlines after being named in court documents when a Chinese businessman, alleged to be a spy, was prohibited from entering the UK. Andrew has stated that he has “ceased contact” with the individual, who maintains he has done “nothing wrong or unlawful”.