Sarah Ferguson calls Prince Andrew a ‘good, kind man’

As the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla nears, royal commentators are speculating that this may be the Duke of York’s way back into favour as the Queen’s disgraced son seeks to regain public support.

Prince Andrew is expected to attend the Coronation with his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, but as they are not working royals, they are not expected to appear on the Buckingham Palace balcony after the ceremony.

But Russell Myers and Ann Gripper, hosts of the Pod Save The King podcast, discussed Andrew’s possible return during a recent episode, and how significant it might be nonetheless.

Mr Myers, royal editor at Lorraine, noted Andrew’s front and centre position at the royal Easter service last month, saying he “got himself up the chain of people walking to church — which he wasn’t necessarily doing when the late Queen was here — but certainly, he was striding behind the King and Queen Consort, alongside his sister”.

He questioned: “Is this sort of a chance for him to rehabilitate his image? Are we going to see him more at the Coronation? It might present an opportunity for him that he will take.”

In the episode, Mr Myers also noted Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson’s “big PR round for her book”.

In recent months, the Duchess of York has taken part in a series of events to promote her latest romance novel. And in several interviews, she has spoken about her ex-husband, with whom she still resides at Royal Lodge in Windsor, describing him as a “good man”, “an honest person” who “needs to be taken out of the spotlight so he can get on with his life”.

As Mr Myers noted, she has been “mentioning Prince Andrew a lot,” suggesting her comments may be an attempt to introduce him “back into the fold”.

“He [Andrew] does see himself as a young man who has a lot of life to live,” the commentator said. “He’s only 63. And certainly, he doesn’t want to retire and even if he does retire, what’s he going to do?”

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Until recently, the Duke of York held the rank of commander and the honorary rank of vice admiral in the Royal Navy. The royal enjoyed a decorated military career, most notably serving as an active-duty helicopter pilot during the Falklands War.

He retired from the Navy in July 2001 after 22 years of active service and subsequently undertook full-time royal duties, representing the Royal Family at official events and on overseas visits. He also became Britain’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment until July 2011.

It was around this time that Andrew’s friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein first came under fire. In late 2010, photographs of the two men walking in Central Park surfaced — after Epstein had served jail time for having sex with a minor.

In the spring of 2011, further connections between the Duke and Epstein came to light, with reports claiming the royal had previously stayed at the disgraced financier’s homes in Florida and Manhattan, and, consequently, Andrew stepped down as trade envoy in July 2011 — a role he had held for a decade.

Then, in 2015, a woman later identified as Virginia Roberts Giuffre, alleged Epstein had forced her to have sex with Prince Andrew on three separate occasions when she was 17. A statement from the Palace at the time called the claims against Prince Andrew “categorically untrue”. And a Florida judge ruled the accusations of sexual misconduct against Andrew were “lurid” and “unnecessary” to decide the civil case against Epstein.

Following Epstein’s suicide in August 2019 while awaiting trial on multiple sex charges, the Duke of York sat down for an explosive interview with BBC’s Newsnight about his former friendship with the convicted sex offender.

He admitted he regretted his relationship with Epstein but denied the accusations made by Ms Giuffre, whom he claimed he had “no recollection” of ever meeting.

The Duke said he had “no memory” of a 2001 photograph of himself and Ms Giuffre and questioned its authenticity, he denied he “sweated profusely” while dancing with her because of a medical condition that made it impossible for him to perspire and said he was “home with the children” during one of the supposed encounters.

Immediately after, Andrew faced intense public backlash and announced he was stepping back from his royal duties.

“It has become clear to me over the last few days that the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the many organisations and charities that I am proud to support,” he said in a statement. “Therefore, I have asked Her Majesty if I may step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, and she has given her permission.”

In August 2021, Ms Giuffre filed a lawsuit against Andrew in New York, which lawyers for the Prince described as “baseless, non-viable and potentially unlawful”.

In January 2022, his lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the case after it was revealed that Ms Giuffre had settled with Epstein in 2009. However, the judge rejected the motion — meaning Andrew would potentially have to face trial later in the year.

The Queen then stripped her second son of his military affiliations and royal patronages, with a statement from the Palace confirming: “The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”

A month later, in February 2022, Andrew settled the sexual assault case brought by Ms Giuffre against him out of court for an undisclosed amount. Andrew has vehemently and continuously denied the claims.

According to a joint statement from the attorneys, “Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights. Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.”

Since then, the Duke has made occasional public appearances. He escorted his mother into Westminster Abbey during Prince Philip’s March 2022 memorial service, joined members of the Royal Family at certain events — including Christmas in Sandringham in December 2022 and the traditional Easter Sunday service in Windsor in April 2023 — and this week, he will attend the Coronation.

Like Mr Myers, royal expert Gertrude Daly believes Andrew “wants to make a comeback”.

She told Express.co.uk: “I think Prince Andrew is trying to find a way to come back but in a less visible way, with less media attention. I think Andrew thinks he can still provide value to the monarchy…While Prince Andrew’s popularity in the UK may be low, there are a lot of people out there who still like him. They might be a minority, but I’m sure they could fill a banquet hall for a charity event.

“And we’ve seen hints at it with Sarah’s comments, his meeting with the Ambassador for China for Chinese New Year in 2020, the Falklands War Anniversary Instagram post and Andrew entering with the Queen at Prince Philip’s Service of Thanksgiving…I think Prince Andrew wants to make a comeback.”

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