Royal family marks Prince Andrew's 60th birthday amid scandal: 'Tone deaf'
Britain's Prince Andrew is celebrating his 60th birthday on Wednesday, but the public well wishes from members the royal family have not been well received.
To celebrate her ex-husband's big day, Sarah Ferguson, who was married to Andrew from 1986 to 1996, shared a candid photo of the royal initally captured by royal photographer Alex Bramall. The black-and-white snapshot shows the Duke of York in his home with his two dogs.
The Royal Family, the official Instagram account for Queen Elizabeth and the rest of the monarchy, also marked the occasion to its 7.5 million followers. The first photo shows the duke as an infant being held by the Queen Mother; the second photo shows the duke now.
"On this day in 1960, Prince Andrew was born at Buckingham Palace, the first child born to a reigning monarch for 103 years," the caption read. "Happy Birthday to The Duke of York."
However, many followers were quick to call the post "inappropriate" and "tone deaf" given the recent scandal surrounding Jeffrey Epstein.
"All things considered, this post is a little tone deaf," one follower commented. "Umm 🤔 this is awkward 🤷♀️," added another.
One follower added, "Not sure which PR person thought this was a good idea."
In November, it was announced that the duke would be stepping down from his royal duties after it was reported that he had ties to Epstein.
“It has become clear to me over the past few days that my association with Jeffrey Epstein has become a major disruption to my family’s work and the valuable work going on in the many organizations and charities that I am proud to support,” he said in a statement released by Buckingham Palace.
It's been a rocky few months for the royal family. In January, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made headlines after they announced they would also be stepping down from their royal duties and move to Canada to raise their son Archie, 9 months.
Last week, it was reported that Queen Elizabeth's grandson, Peter Phillips, will be divorcing his wife of 11 years. The divorce announcement was soon followed by another divorce announcement seven days later pertaining to Her Majesty's nephew, The Earl of Snowdon, and his wife of 26 years.
