PRINCE Andrew’s last public outing has been branded as a “catastrophic mistake” and he needs to disappear, a royal expert has said.
Tom Bower gave his devastating assessment of the Duke of York, 64, while appearing on The Sun’s popular Royal Exclusive show.
Asked by the paper’s royal editor Matt Wilkinson about the royal’s position, Mr Bower described it as “dire”.
He said: “He should be invisible.
“I blame the King for not being more authoritarian for ordering Prince Andrew to stay out of public view.”
Mr Bower added: “That memorial service front row was catastrophic mistake – he pushed himself to the front.”
In February this year, the Duke of York was among a number of royals who attended St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle for the Thanksgiving service held in honour of Greece’s late King Constantine.
Andrew was seen beaming as he led the way in a rare public appearance as mourners arrived for the service.
Queen Camilla arrived separately meaning that the Duke of York stepped forward to usher in more minor royals including Princess Anne, her daughter Zara and husband Mike Tindall.
His ex-wife Sarah Ferguson was by his side as they marched into St George’s Chapel.
Mr Bower’s comments come after another royal expert claimed the Monarch and the Duke of York were never close and are very different people – with no end in sight to their feud.
Charles is allegedly threatening to severe ties with his younger brother over his failure to vacate Royal Lodge.
Andrew – often dubbed Elizabeth II’s favourite child – shares the home, on the grounds of Windsor Castle, with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and is reported to be refusing to budge.
The shamed duke will never return to public duty after paying millions to settle an abuse case with a Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking victim, and Charles has been trying to evict him from the 30-room property for 18 months.
Since taking the throne, the King has been looking to cut costs, including slimming down the core of the Firm itself.
Charles and Andrew’s feud appears to mirror that of the King’s own sons Prince William and Prince Harry.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams told The Sun: “The King has undoubtedly got a problem, and the Royal Family very, very clearly have extremely serious and embarrassing perpetual problem with Prince Andrew.”
He said the differences between the two brothers, however, have been striking their whole lives.
“They seem to have gone on as complete opposites, really, in so many ways,” he explained.
“Of course, there’s a 12-year age gap between King Charles and Prince Andrew,” he continued, adding they “hadn’t got that much in common”.
“Charles is rather sort of intellectual, serious, sensitive. Andrew rather bumptious, outgoing.”
He did point out the siblings shared the feat of being “considered amongst the most desirable males on the planet” in their youths.
