When the King's Away, Andrew Will Play: Disgraced Duke of York Trying to Stage Comeback as Charles III Lies Sick

"Royal disgrace" Prince Andrew has been appearing at numerous high-profile royal events lately as both King Charles III and Kate, Princess of Wales, battle cancer and remain "hidden away."

"The family has much more to lose than gain by continuing to appear with Andrew, so there is certainly a case to be made for keeping their distance," PR expert Evan Nierman dished.

"He may personally be looking for opportunities to rebuild his public profile, but I doubt it's an effort that is being done in coordination with the royal family and its PR apparatus," he added.

This led another expert to observe: "He is not going to have public duties, engagements, or any official role within the royal family. That's not going to happen," royal expert Marlene Koenig told an outlet.

These insights follow reports that claimed the eighth in line to the throne was "smirking" and appeared to be "gloating" as he led members of the British royal family at King Constantine II's memorial service on February 27.

"Andrew would have been super happy," a close pal of the disgraced Duke spilled. "He loves all of this pomp. He may not be a working royal, but he’s always believed that he is a valid and important member of the royal family, and nothing has changed."

The royal "black sheep" made a rare appearance outside of his house when he attended the somber event. The Duke of York, along with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, were easily spotted leading the way through the congregation at St George's Chapel near Windsor Castle. Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie accompanied their parents to the solemn event, where one royal source claimed that Andrew "went out of his way" to appear on camera.

Earlier this year, the King was advised to urgently distance himself "completely" from Prince Andrew, amid the release of new court documents about the disgraced Duke and Jeffrey Epstein.

"The King has no option but to completely cut ties with Andrew," a royal insider spilled in January. "He will forever be tainted by his association with Epstein, and despite his denials of wrongdoing, the constant drip of information about Epstein and Ghislaine Max­­well is a stain on the royal family."

The advice comes amid the documents showing that an Epstein s-- slave, Jane Doe 3, stated that she was forced to engage in sexual activity with the Duke of York. The papers shared that the underage girl was "forced to have sexual relations with this prince when she was a minor in three separate geographical locations."

The revelations pushed the ongoing "Andrew situation" the monarchy has faced for over four years into the "nuclear" territory when it comes to public perception. There were also fresh calls from anti-Crown activists for the King himself to publicly address the dire new evidence.

Business Insider reported on the expert opinions.