Experts have said Prince Andrew's “goose is finally cooked” after he and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson were excluded from the Royal Family's Sandringham Christmas celebrations. The disgraced former duke and his former wife will not join King Charles and other royals at the traditional festive gathering this year.
According to biographer Andrew Lownie, the pair have been permanently ostracised from the royal circle following the loss of their titles and ongoing scrutiny over links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “He's definitely out,” Lownie said, noting that Andrew is now a commoner and has lost Royal Lodge.
The US Justice Department’s release of the first batch of Epstein files has compounded the situation, with both Andrew and Ferguson named in the documents. Photographs released include one of Andrew reclining on women's laps at Sandringham with Ghislaine Maxwell and another of Epstein and Maxwell near Balmoral.
Lownie described this year's exclusion as “much more serious” than in 2023, when Andrew and Ferguson were removed from the guest list after Andrew's association with a suspected Chinese agent. “His goose is finally really cooked here,” Lownie said, citing the wealth of material from his own book, Virginia Giuffre's book, and the Epstein revelations.
While Andrew's reputation is irreparably damaged, Lownie suggested Ferguson might be able to reinvent herself. However, he noted that even the couple's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, appear to be distancing themselves, with Beatrice reportedly flying abroad.
