Prince Andrew was filmed offering some unusual advice to freezing crowds waiting to see the royal family on their traditional Christmas Day walkabout at Sandringham.
The Duke of York baffled well-wishers after he told a woman who said her feet were cold that she should “stand on newspaper” to stay warm.
During the family’s walk to St Mary Magdalene Church on Sunday (25 December), Andrew was filmed stopping in front of a woman and asking her if she had “cold feet”.
When she replied that they were “freezing”, he said: “Did you know the trick is to bring a newspaper? Stand on a newspaper and you insulate your feet”.
A video of the bizarre moment, taken by an onlooker, was obtained by The Sun.
The onlooker told the newspaper: “The whole thing was really odd. Andrew stopped in front of us and blurted out the most bizarre advice about keeping warm.
“I don’t imagine the woman will be testing his theory anytime soon.”
The royal family spent Christmas at Sandringham House this year for the first time since 2019. It also marks the first festive holiday without Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September.
King Charles III and the Queen Consort, as well as the Prince and Princess of Wales and their three children, attended the annual Christmas service at the church.
The Earl and Countess of Wessex and their children were also in attendance. Andrew was joined by his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, and their husbands.
The duke’s presence at the walkabout came as a surprise to the waiting crowds, as he has rarely been seen in public since he stepped down as a working royal in 2019 due to his controversial friendship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
In November, it was reported that Andrew was told by his brother, the King, that he would never return to public duties.
He was reportedly told that he had been permanently banished from public life, which sources close to him said left him “completely lost and very depressed”.
In August 2021, a civil case was lauched in US court by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that the duke had sexually assaulted her on three occasions when she was 17. Andrew vehemently denied the allegations. Earlier this year, an out-of-court settlement was reached between the two parties.
The Queen usually hosts Christmas for the royal family at Sandringham, but was forced to cancel the tradition in 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic. This year, the royal standard flew above the house, marking a return to the usual festivities.
King Charles’s first Christmas speech as the new monarch was broadcast at 3pm on Sunday. It was recorded on 13 December at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, where his late mother is buried.
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