Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s only ‘pleasant’ contribution laid bare

Sarah Ferguson and Andrew Mountbatten Windsor are appreciated for bringing up Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

The ex Duke and Duchess of York, who are now banished from public life, are praised for at least giving their daughters a good life.

Royal expert Richard Palmer says: "It’s hard to have too much sympathy for them when they’re not speaking about any of this or explaining any of it.”

He tells Mirror: "But where I do have some sympathy is that for members of the royal family, if they try and build their own careers outside of The Firm, they’re accused of cashing in on their royal connections, and certainly Beatrice and Eugenie have faced those accusations.

“It’s quite a while since I’ve spoken to them, but just after their time at university I found them to be really pleasant young women. I think they are testament to the fact that not everything Andrew and Fergie touched turned to rot,” he noted.

"Charles has been left with a real mess by his mother," he said. "It could force a reassessment of the later years of her life. It won't necessarily turn her from a complete icon into somebody whose reign is denigrated, but not dealing with the Andrew problem is definitely a black mark."