The British royal family is no stranger to being criticized for out-of-touch behavior, from King Charles III forcing his staff to prepare seven eggs for breakfast so he can choose the best one to Princess Margaret calling an Elizabeth Taylor outfit “vulgar.” And we can’t forget that time Prince Phillip told a small child they needed to lose weight. But since the queen passed away on September 8, 2022, the royal family has gone even more unhinged in their lack of common sense—here are the worst royal faux pas in light of the Jeffrey Epstein sex offender scandal.
Princess Beatrice’s parents were in a scandal, and the palace granted her a new honor
After her parents were stripped of their titles due to ongoing ties to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, their eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, was upgraded from trustee of the organization, Outward Bound to a deputy patron—the same role her now-disgraced dear dad once held. The timing of this title change during a time of crisis was a poor PR move and showed Buckingham Palace’s inability to grasp how bad the former Prince Andrew’s situation really is.
Andrew was punished…by being moved to a five-bedroom mansion?
Even worse than Beatrice’s celebratory reception was that Prince Andrew’s lodgings were supposedly downgraded…to a five-bedroom brick house on the Sandringham grounds. This move is hardly a rough way to downsize. While most of the UK faces a cost-of-living crisis that prevents many from getting adequate housing, this disgraced former prince has secured quite a lovely residence as a form of punishment.
Princess Beatrice went horseback riding with Prince Andrew in public
While Beatrice should be doing everything she can to distance herself from her disgraced father, she’s clearly having trouble dealing with the fact that his reputation is in shambles. When visiting him after he was made to downgrade his home, she went on a very public horseback riding adventure with him, which many interpreted as her taking his side in a show of loyalty and, in the process, potentially ruining her own future as a royal.
Princess Beatrice fought her husband tooth and nail when he tried to distance himself from Prince Andrew
Andrew’s scandal has led to a fair amount of marital unrest between Beatrice and her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, who has tried to cut off contact with his wife’s family. While he wanted her to establish a clear boundary during this time, she refused to create distance. As a result, this situation may jeopardize her husband’s business opportunities with his development company, Banda Property, and investors are becoming increasingly wary.
King Charles III has let Prince Andrew enjoy his luxuries
Despite the king’s request for his brother to downsize, he has continued to provide other luxuries, including luxurious horseback riding adventures on expensive steeds, five-star fine dining, and staffers available to clean his home while he relaxes. Most senior royals are in support of this, and Princess Anne and Prince Edward have both been against Andrew getting any punishment. Many of the royals continue to support Andrew and perceive him as innocent, viewing the title stripping as a mere reprimand without any real significance.
Prince Andrew was not removed from the line of succession
Despite being told to stop using the title of prince, Andrew is still technically a prince. He’s still 8th in the line of succession, meaning that he could become the King of England one day, though the series of events that would need to happen is highly unlikely. Still, it’s troubling he hasn’t been removed altogether, especially as other nations that belong to the Commonwealth support Andrew remaining out of the kingship. Still, King Charles III has not responded to this public pressure.
Prince William didn’t watch Hamnet despite attending the BAFTAs
He may not be as bad as some of his relatives, but it was cringeworthy when he admitted he hadn’t watched “Hamnet,” despite its glowing reviews. According to the Daily Mail, he said, ”I need to be in quite a calm state, and I am not at the moment. I will save it. Many interpreted the comments as a sign that he was finding the scandal following Andrew’s arrest hard to cope with. Still, since he’s the current president of the film organization, this was an out-of-touch moment.
Fergie dreams of a royal comeback on reality TV (and is researching PR teams)
Sarah Ferguson, aka Fergie, is determined to make a comeback through a PR team, but no one is sure how she will afford it, especially after leaked emails revealed she was BFFs with Jeffrey Epstein and once jokingly asked him to marry her. Info also leaked that she was willing to do a reality show with Queen Elizabeth II’s corgis, which she inherited when the queen passed away.
