The Most Out-Of-Touch Royal Behavior Since The Queen Died

The British royal family has long attracted criticism for the out-of-touch behavior of its members. King Charles III has been criticized for allegedly asking his staff to prepare seven eggs for him each morning so that he can enjoy the best one (although Clarence House has denied these claims). Princess Margaret made one of the most controversial royal comments ever when she described Elizabeth Taylor's look one evening as "vulgar" — because a commoner like Taylor shouldn't have been wearing diamonds in Margaret's view. As for Queen Elizabeth II's husband, there is a treasure trove of Prince Philip's most inappropriate statements. Once, he told a small child to lose weight.

Ever since the queen died on September 8, 2022, however, it seems that the royal family has grown increasingly unplugged from common sentiment. This was clear in October 2025 when leaked emails revealed that then-Prince Andrew and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson — who had several P.D.A. moments during their marriage – had lied to the public about the nature of their relationship with the convicted sex trafficker, Jeffrey Epstein. In the wake of the scandal, members of the public were aghast at Andrew and Ferguson's sordid behavior. The palace stripped both Andrew and Ferguson of their titles in a move that was applauded by royal watchers around the globe. However, several members of the royal family failed to understand public opinion — and continued to carry on as per usual.  

Former Prince Andrew's disgraceful friendship with Jeffrey Epstein may have shocked royal watchers — but the palace's reaction to the scandal was undoubtedly out-of-touch. Just days after Andrew and Sarah Ferguson were stripped of their titles, their oldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, received a new honor. Indeed, on November 6, 2025, Beatrice was upgraded from her previous position as a trustee of the organization, Outward Bound, to a full-blown deputy patron — a role that her disgraced father once held. The royal family celebrated Beatrice's promotion with an elegant reception held at St. James Palace.

The timing of this reception was extremely uncomfortable. By celebrating Beatrice's philanthropy during a moment of crisis, the palace seemed to be glossing over the House of York's growing scandals. While some royal fans were delighted to hear of Beatrice's new role, others saw through the family's attempt at saving face. "The PR push is so transparent. Personally I don't want to see Bea or her sister in the foreseeable future," one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter). The royal family's choice to support Beatrice amid the Epstein scandal only goes to show just how little its members seem to grasp the severity of Andrew's situation. 

While Charles may have hoped to protect his beloved niece from her parents' reputational catastrophe, the damage has been done. As royal expert Richard Palmer told the Mirror, "In my view, in the future, [Beatrice and Eugenie] will end up losing their royal titles."

Treating Princess Beatrice to a celebratory reception was hardly the only out-of-touch move made by the British royal family in the weeks following the Epstein scandal. The palace also made the grave error of downgrading former Prince Andrew's lodgings ... to a home that most Brits can only dream of. Indeed, the prince was removed from his longtime home at the Royal Lodge at Windsor to Marsh Farm — a five-bedroom brick house on the grounds of Sandringham.

At the time when Andrew's big move was announced, it seemed that King Charles III was hoping to punish his wayward brother by forcing him to downsize. The only issue, of course, is that the U.K. is famously facing a cost-of-living crisis that has prevented normal working people from securing adequate housing. For a disgraced former prince like Andrew to get such fancy digs — even after bringing shame and scandal to the royal family — has left a bad taste in many royal watchers' mouths.

Although Andrew should really consider himself lucky for securing such a nice residence, the former prince has been very vocal about his distaste for his new country home. A source close to Andrew told the Daily Mail, "He really didn't want Marsh Farm. Andrew won't have lived anywhere that small since he left his apartment at Buckingham Palace." Most commoners, though, don't seem too impressed with Andrew's plight or with Charles' idea of a punishment.

Former Prince Andrew destroyed the York family name through his associations with Jeffrey Epstein, but not all members of the British royal family have accepted the extent of the damage. Andrew's eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, has reportedly had a difficult time facing the reality of his ruined reputation. Shortly after Andrew was told to trade his home at the Royal Lodge at Windsor for Marsh Farm, Beatrice went to visit him. However, rather than seeing her father in private, the princess chose to go on a public horseback riding excursion with him. She appeared in photographs by his side — a move that many royal experts interpreted as the princess taking sides.

"Beatrice must have known she would very probably be seen out riding with him, so we can take this as an open show of loyalty," royal expert Jennie Bond told the Mirror. But, although Beatrice may wish to support her father, other sources say that she does not understand at what cost. Friends told the Daily Mail that Princess Beatrice's husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, is concerned about the way Andrew's image could impact his wife moving forward. "Behind the scenes, Edo has been working hard on keeping Bea distant from her parents," one insider dished. Because Beatrice is not particularly plugged in to public sentiment, she may not fully understand that standing beside Andrew could ruin her own royal future.

Princess Beatrice's out-of-touch perspective may be her downfall. Reports indicate that former Prince Andrew's daughter has argued relentlessly with her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, on the issue of maintaining contact with the York family. According to Princess Beatrice and Edo Mapelli Mozzi's friends, the couple's marriage has suffered as a result of this disagreement. "Edo wants Beatrice to draw a line in the sand with her parents," an insider told Closer. "From his perspective, creating some distance is the only thing to do right now if they want to save their own skins but Beatrice isn't willing to do it."

Indeed, Mappelli Mozzi's development business, Banda Property, has relied heavily on upper-crust connections to become successful. Now that Mappelli Mozzi is turning a major profit, he reportedly hopes to reassure his investors that he won't sully Banda's name through his connection with his disgraced in-laws from the House of York. This goal, however, may be easier said than done — especially if Beatrice takes her parents' side.

"To him it's a matter of survival, and he's telling friends she's making a huge mistake, he's clearly pretty angry about it," added the aforementioned source. If Beatrice continues to misread public sentiment, she may ruin her husband's business opportunities and her reputation along with it. This would ostensibly leave the princess with no money, no marriage, and no name to fall back on.     

King Charles III may have asked his disgraced brother to downsize his home, but that doesn't mean that the monarch has denied him other luxuries. Since losing his titles, former Prince Andrew has lived a lavish life — horseback riding on expensive steeds, dining on fine food, and relaxing after dinner while his staffers clean his home. Senior royals are largely believed to support this arrangement, as they think Andrew has suffered enough.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, one palace insider revealed that Princess Anne and Prince Edward have largely opposed Charles' decision to punish Andrew. "There are several arguments going on between Andrew and the king and between the king and the wider family – some of whom are convinced the King has treated his brother too harshly," the source claimed. Apparently, Charles has defended his choice to punish Andrew — without cutting off his allowance, his staff, and his horses. "The king remains of the view that Andrew is innocent until proven guilty," the source added.

Many royal watchers find this view shocking, given the extent of Andrew's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Even the Daily Mail's prominent pro-monarchy royal expert, Richard Eden, condemned Charles' reaction as too soft. "The stripping of Andrew's titles looks more and more like a slap on the wrist," Eden told the outlet. "Practically every day, we see Andrew riding horses around Windsor – who's paying for that? His allowance – who's paying for that?"

Many royal watchers have found the palace's response to the Prince Andrew situation to be far from sufficient. One major issue pertains to Andrew's royal status. Although he was asked to stop using his "prince" titles, Andrew technically remains a prince. In fact, as of this writing, Andrew remains 8th in the line of succession — meaning that in the case of a series of terrible tragedies, he could become King of England. While such a timeline is unlikely to occur, some royal watchers find it troubling that he hasn't been removed from the line of succession altogether. The government of Australia — which belongs to the Commonwealth — already communicated its support for prohibiting Andrew from ever becoming king. Other nations are expected to follow suit.

Despite mounting public pressure, King Charles III has not made any move to strip Andrew of his spot in the line of succession. This decision has come across as extremely out-of-touch with public sentiment. However, it is understood that Charles has begun exploring his options in secret. One top source from the palace told Ok!, "There is a palpable sense William and Charles are seething and frustrated behind the scenes over the labyrinthine complications stopping Andrew being axed from the line of succession." Apparently, the issue is: " ... the legal reality is just proving far too extraordinarily difficult to navigate."

Reports indicate that Prince William may not be as out-of-touch as the rest of the royal family — at least when it comes to the Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor debacle — but that doesn't mean he is especially plugged-in. This became glaringly apparent at the BAFTAs when the Prince of Wales admitted that he hadn't watched "Hamnet," despite the film's glowing reviews. "I need to be in quite a calm state and I am not at the moment. I will save it," William said, as reported by the Daily Mail. Given that the BAFTAs were held only days after Andrew's arrest, William's comments were widely interpreted as a sign that he was finding the scandal difficult to swallow. 

Although William's desire to protect his mental state may be understandable, some royal watchers felt that it was slightly out-of-touch. At the end of the day, the prince's job is to represent Britain at important events like the BAFTAs, especially considering the Prince of Wales is the current president of the film organization. For him to appear at the awards ceremony without having watched some of Britain's most renowned movies of the year seems just odd. Many took to social media to share their feelings on the matter; one X user said, "He should be ashamed to say that out loud. The only movie nominated that is through and true British...and he has seen it. Then what is the point of him even being there?"

When Prince Andrew fell from royal grace, his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, came crashing down with him. Formerly styled the Duchess of York, Ferguson automatically lost her titles when Andrew was stripped of his. But, a report in the Daily Mail indicates that Ferguson would like to stage a comeback — even going so far as to search for the public relations team that could make it happen. Insiders worry that Fergie's behavior is out-of-touch with reality. One source told the outlet, "The public is disgusted by what they have read. And how would she pay a new PR team to rescue her reputation?"

Ferguson was not exactly the model duchess. During her heyday in the 1990s, Sarah Ferguson developed a deep friendship with Jeffrey Epstein outside of Andrew. According to Epstein's associate, Ghislaine Maxwell, in her interview with U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, Ferguson may have actually been the one to help solidify the former prince's relationship with the late sex trafficker to begin with.

Even more horrifyingly, leaked emails from 2011 show that Ferguson held Epstein in very high esteem. One message from Fergie to Epstein — which was published in The Sun in 2025 — practically oozed with compliments. "You have always been a steadfast, generous and supreme friend to me and my family," Ferguson wrote. In other emails, which were released by the U.S. Department of Justice, Ferguson jokingly asked Epstein to marry her.

Sarah Ferguson's tone-deaf behavior does not stop at her reported dreams of a royal comeback. A second report in the Daily Mail uncovered information hinting that the duchess was willing to appear on reality TV with Queen Elizabeth II's corgis. According to the report, Ferguson — who inherited the corgis when the queen died — spoke with Hollywood executives about selling the royal hounds' offspring on TV. One source told the outlet, "She was pushing to get back into TV and make some money. She came up with the idea of featuring the Queen's corgis in a show. And that included the idea of breeding them. Bizarre as it sounds, the idea of cloning them was discussed."

A representative for Ferguson denied the report in a statement submitted to People, but Daily Mail journalists doubled down on the story's veracity on the podcast "Palace Confidential." Regardless, Ferguson's efforts to return to public life in any way, shape, or form show just how out-of-touch she really is. The ex-duchess does not seem to grasp the full extent of her fall from grace. As a friend told the Daily Mail for a separate report, "Sarah is upset that their names have apparently been taken off the guest lists for red-carpet and charity events." She apparently has struggled to understand why her dealings with Jeffrey Epstein would exclude her from high society moving forward.

While the royal family was struggling with the issue of former Prince Andrew, it seems Prince Harry and Meghan Markle approached King Charles III with a suggestion: Why not spend the summer together at Sandringham? Sources close to the king told the Daily Mail in March 2026 that Charles was not interested in the idea — especially seeing as the Sussexes leaked the story of their dream summer holiday to the press. "If Harry truly wishes to see his father, he would do well to encourage his supporters to allow such matters to be discussed privately, since low trust and bitter experience in this regard remains one of the principal barriers to progress," a friend of Charles' told the outlet.

The timing of Harry and Meghan's suggestion also did not make much sense. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have famously been personae non gratae in the British royal family, and their presence at Sandringham would be stressful even in normal times. However, given that royal experts fear former Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson could actually bring down the monarchy, Charles has concerns that extend well beyond the Sussexes' desires du jour. The fact that Harry and Meghan would even consider inviting themselves to Sandringham — the very estate where Andrew's new residence at Marsh Farm is located — shows just how out-of-touch they are with the royal family.