Royal Expert Says Ex-Prince Andrew Has "Soiled" the Royal Family's Christmas Celebrations With His "Debauched" and "Tawdry" Display
"It is not just haunting but sordid."
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor reportedly won't be attending the Royal Family's annual Christmas celebration at Sandringham. But according to a royal expert, the former prince has "soiled" King Charles's festive period due to his involvement in further "debauched" revelations.
Last week, more photos from the Jeffrey Epstein files were released, and the ex-Duke of York featured in several previously unseen pictures. One of the photos showed the former prince posing across a group of several women—their identities redacted—on a couch in the main house on the Sandringham estate. Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell could be seen standing behind the group and smiling.
Writing for the Daily Mail, royal expert Richard Kay shared, "The tawdry picture of Andrew in the Epstein files...will cast a dark cloud over the Royal Family's Christmas. He has invaded their privacy and soiled their celebrations."
Kay called the photo a "grotesque postscript to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's former royal life," noting that "the tawdry image" was "taken at Sandringham—where he is no longer welcome." According to the expert, it is another "indelible reminder of Andrew's stratospheric fall from grace," and "for the Royal Family it is not just haunting but sordid."
"The tawdry image" was "taken at Sandringham—where he is no longer welcome."
Somehow managing to make matters even worse, Kay noted that the new photo of Andrew could be seen as "an invasion of [the Royal Family's] cherished privacy, taken in the very room where they will gather this week to mark Christmas."
The royal expert also highlighted that the picture was captured "in the baronial drawing room, known as the Saloon." He described the location as "an intimate inner sanctum where the family traditionally gathers for afternoon tea on Christmas Eve and again on Christmas Day to watch Charles's televised message." Basically, Andrew's latest association with Epstein appears to have occurred in one of the Royal Family's most sacred spaces.
"He has invaded their privacy and soiled their celebrations."
Kay confirmed that "Andrew has been banished from the gathering" in 2025, following his demotion and the removal of his royal titles.
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According to the outlet, the former Duke of York previously claimed that Epstein and Maxwell visited Sandringham for a "shooting weekend." The latest photographic evidence will surely pose more questions than answers, however.

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.