Andrew, Sarah Ferguson reemerge at christening as expert warns York sisters to 'keep their distance'
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has made his return to public life.
The former prince attended the christening of his granddaughter, Athena, Princess Beatrice's second child, Friday at the Chapel Royal at St. James's Palace in London.
Also in attendance was Andrew's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, making this both Andrew's first event since being stripped of his titles and the first time he and Ferguson have been seen together since then.
"Beatrice was in a difficult position. Do you uninvite your father and give the media even more fodder, or do you invite him but keep it very low-key? It's also in the interest of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie to keep their distance from their parents' scandals," royal commentator Meredith Constant told Fox News Digital.
"King Charles has made it clear that his nieces are very much in the royal fold, but who knows if William's going to extend the same compassion when King. The more space between the York sisters and their parents, the better."
The last time the family was seen together was at the Duchess of Kent's funeral Sept. 16.
In mid-October, Andrew announced he was giving up his royal titles, and the palace announced later that month that King Charles "initiated a formal process to remove the Style, Titles and Honours of Prince Andrew."
With this decision, Andrew no longer holds the styling of His Royal Highness or the titles of Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Baron Killyleagh, and he no longer holds the honor of Order of the Garter and Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order.
"I can't think of a more awkward christening. This certainly wouldn't be the first time Beatrice's father's scandals followed her on important days," Constant said.
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"Princess Beatrice's July 2020 wedding was allegedly a smaller affair than originally planned. The date was moved because of COVID and then Prince Andrew's scandals. November 2019 saw his infamous interview with Newsnight, following fresh allegations about Epstein that forced him to step back from royal duties."
Andrew initially took a step back from public life in 2019 after a sit-down interview with the BBC in which he discussed his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Aside from his relationship with Epstein, Andrew was also accused of sexual assault by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre. Giuffre filed a lawsuit against Andrew, claiming she was forced to have sex with him three times, including when she was 17 years old. The case was settled out of court in 2022 without Andrew acknowledging any wrongdoing.
Giuffre died by suicide in April, and her memoir, "Nobody's Girl," was released following her death in October. In the memoir, Giuffre renewed her claims against Andrew.
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Ferguson also experienced backlash when the Daily Mail reported she reached out to Epstein in 2011 and sent him an apologetic email in which she called him a "steadfast, generous and supreme friend," after publicly denouncing him in an interview with The Evening Standard.
"I know you feel hellaciously let down by me from what you were either told or read, and I must humbly apologise to you and your heart for that," Ferguson allegedly wrote. "I was advised, in no uncertain terms, to have nothing to do with you and to not speak or email you and if I did I would cause more problems to you, [Andrew] and myself."
As a result of the email becoming public, Ferguson was dropped as a patron from multiple charities.