Prince Andrew's efforts to help out his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, in the middle of a coronavirus pandemic, has been criticized. Royal experts said that the Duke of York's attempt to distribute goodies for healthcare workers has been a "trashy" PR stunt to fix his damaged reputation.
Last Good Friday, Prince Andrew made a rare appearance on Instagram with Fergie, where he was photographed preparing and distributing cupcakes for the workers of a hospice facility. The photo was posted by Antonia Marshall, Fergie's assistant, with the caption that said the York family has been "wonderful and steadfast" in their efforts to acknowledge frontliners.
The post, however, earned a backlash from the critics of the controversial royal. Journalist Tom Bower said that it was pathetic for Prince Andrew to "exploit coronavirus" as he tries to return to the royal spotlight.
Bower said that Prince Andrew can still do good work without posting "trashy" photos to earn praises from the public. His sentiment was echoed by those on social media who also criticized the Yorks for not wearing gloves and masks as they prepared the goodies to give to the frontliners.
One commenter, Vivian Riversa, also said that the Duke and Duchess of York should have been packing cupcakes in their kitchen and not outdoors. She also reminded the parents of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie that they should save the Queen more embarrassment by avoiding publicity stunts.
Prince Andrew decided to step back from the royal limelight and resign from his royal duties in November 2019, following his interview BBC. The Duke of York was supposed to clear out his ties to the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Instead he revealed that he doesn't regret the friendship with the convicted criminal.
The royal also denied that he benefitted from his friendship with Epstein. The latter apparently provide young women for Prince Andrew. One of these women accused the duke in public but he denied recalling meeting his accuser.
Meanwhile, Prince Andrew has been avoiding being seen in public since the Epstein scandal broke. He actually missed out on a few royal events, including the celebration of his milestone 60th birthday last February.
The Duke of York has also hired high profile lawyers on his defense team in case the FBI will ask him to shed light on Epstein's sex trafficking cases. The deceased pedophile is still on trial even as he took his own life in August 2019 while in prison.
