Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s public reputations were reduced to tatters by their friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
The prince and Ferguson appear to have been attracted to the wealth, connections and influence of the financier, who used those same attributes to exploit underage girls.
But the seeds of their downfall were sown over many years, with the couple, who divorced in 1996 but remain close, periodically the subject of negative headlines, slowly tarnishing the royal family’s reputation.
Andrew’s standing with his relatives was laid bare during the funeral of the Duchess of Kent in September, when he tried to engage the Prince of Wales in conversation.
William did not respond to comments made by his uncle, who stood by his side on the steps of Westminster Cathedral, staring straight ahead and barely acknowledging Andrew’s presence.
Now, Andrew is to stop using his remaining titles and honours, including the Duke of York, in the wake of the Epstein sex scandal.
As a young man, Andrew was one of the world’s most eligible bachelors and he had earned high regard for his bravery during the Falklands War, and was later nicknamed “Randy Andy” after being linked to a string of beautiful women.
He married and divorced the bubbly, flame-haired Sarah “Fergie” Ferguson, who herself has generated some of the most humiliating royal scandals of modern times.
Andrew has faced questions over his connections to politicians in Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tunisia, Libya and Turkmenistan.
His relations with Timur Kulibayev, son-in-law of the then president of Kazakhstan, were also scrutinised after Mr Kulibayev purchased the prince’s Sunninghill Park home for £3 million more than its £12 million asking price in 2007.
Simon Wilson – Britain’s deputy head of mission in Bahrain from 2001 to 2005 – wrote in the Daily Mail that the prince was “more commonly known among the British diplomatic community in the Gulf as HBH: His Buffoon Highness”.
And he was dubbed “Air Miles Andy” by the tabloids after being criticised for his globe-trotting, especially helicopter trips to pursue his passion for golf.
In 2011, it emerged that Andrew was friends with American financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 for soliciting a minor for prostitution.
Photos surfaced of him with his arm around Virginia Giuffre, also known as Virginia Roberts, who claimed that Epstein employed her as a masseuse but exploited her while she was a teenage minor.
Ms Giuffre alleged she was “procured” for Andrew by Epstein, whom she accused of using her as a “sex slave”.
The prince vehemently denied the allegation.
It was an appearance on the BBC’s Newsnight programme that ended his public career.
The interview with presenter Emily Matliss was dubbed a “car crash”, with commentators questioning his responses and condemning his unsympathetic tone and lack of remorse over his friendship with Epstein.
Meanwhile, Ferguson also proved a PR disaster for the royal family, cast from their midst amid her “toe-sucking” scandal in the 1990s and fell deeply into debt.
In 2010, she was caught up in the cash-for-access scandal, offering to sell an introduction to her ex-husband for £500,000 to an undercover reporter posing as a businessman.
Last month, she was dropped by numerous charities when it emerged years later that she wrote to convicted sex offender Epstein, calling him a “supreme friend” despite publicly disowning him in the media.
Rejected by the good causes she once championed and now unable to use her Duchess of York title, Sarah is likely to be spending Christmas with Andrew, as the couple will not join the royal gathering at Sandringham.
They had missed the traditional festive event last year after the prince again hit the headlines, after a High Court hearing revealed that alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, who was banned from the UK, was said to have been a “close” confidant of Andrew.
Andrew and Sarah once again appear to be out in the cold, away from the royal family, but it remains to be seen if they will ever return to the fold.
