Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson have found themselves scratched off the guest list for this year’s royal family Christmas at Sandringham, and the reason isn’t exactly a mystery. Andrew’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein continue to poison whatever’s left of his reputation, and the royal household clearly doesn’t want that shadow hanging over their holiday gathering. Even though Sarah isn’t directly connected to the scandal, her long-running closeness with Andrew—still living together, still tied at the hip—makes her guilty by association in the court of public perception. The message is plain enough: they’re not welcome, because their presence would remind the world of a scandal the monarchy would rather bury under the rug.

For Andrew, it’s another step in his slow-motion exile. He’s already been stripped of titles, sidelined from public life, and reduced to a background figure who occasionally pops up to embarrassment. Now, even the family dinner table is out of reach. Ferguson, despite her own efforts to stay in the public’s good graces, is paying the price for her connection to him. To be told “don’t come to Christmas” by your own family says everything about how far Andrew has fallen—and how desperate the royals are to keep him, and anyone standing next to him, out of sight during their most visible traditions.


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