Despite nine in 10 Britons holding an unfavourable view of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, a small but vocal contingent are calling for the disgraced duke to be "left alone".
According to YouGov polling from October 2025, 91 per cent of the public regard him negatively, with a mere four per cent expressing any positive sentiment.
Yet across online royal discussion boards and newspaper comment sections, dissenting voices have emerged. Contributors to Theroyalforums.com have likened the sustained condemnation to a medieval "witch hunt."
One Mumsnet user argued that despite facing no criminal conviction, the 65-year-old remains so reviled that "people won't be satisfied unless he's in the gutter somewhere."
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor 'should be left alone' as dissenting voices stick up for disgraced royal
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The second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II was stripped of his royal titles last autumn following revelations he had lied about maintaining contact with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Among those questioning the relentless scrutiny is Emma Campbell, a 47-year-old illustrator from Bexley in Greater London.
"Andrew hasn't been convicted of anything," before adding: "It was a poorly judged friendship that he had with Epstein", she told the Telegraph.
Ms Campbell maintains that without criminal charges, the persistent media attention serves no purpose. "I don't see why there's the ongoing pressure on him," she added. "It's time to let it go."
Andy Cooper, a 59-year-old accountant from Harrogate, shares similar concerns about the absence of due process: "A book is written or there's an article written, or whatever, and there's a news cycle, a fresh round of assumption that he has done something. You are innocent until proven guilty."
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor greeting royal fans at Sandringham in 2023
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He described the treatment as fundamentally unjust, noting that Andrew's life has been destroyed based largely on speculation.
Supporters often cite Andrew's military record as evidence that he deserves more lenient treatment. He spent 22 years in the Royal Navy, from 1979 to 2001, including active service during the Falklands conflict in 1982 as a helicopter pilot aboard HMS Invincible.
"People seem to forget that he fought in the Falklands," Mr Cooper said. "He put his life on the line for his country. For me, he's got some credit in the bank."
Nick Swann, 57, from Wiltshire, recalls the hero's welcome Andrew received upon returning from the South Atlantic: "I remember him coming back to port with the rose between his teeth and all the girls screaming at him. How he's fallen from that pinnacle is a great tragedy."
Andrew presented with a rose after the Falklands War
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Mr Swann added that Andrew "should just be left alone now."
Royal biographer Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, has observed growing sympathy for Mountbatten-Windsor among her contacts: "Criticism of Andrew has become a bit of a witch hunt. A lot of people have said, 'We don't like the guy, but enough is enough.'"
The biographer noted there remains broad agreement that a return to public duties is virtually impossible for Andrew: "I don't think there is," Ms Seward said when asked about any potential path back. "He hasn't taken the path he said he would take. I don't think he's got it in him."
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor returning home from the Falklands War
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Ms Campbell believes the situation would become even more difficult once Prince William ascends to the throne: "He's already shown he'll take a hard line with behaviours and how they impact the Royal Family. I don't see how King William would let Andrew back into the fold."
Now residing in Norfolk, stripped of nearly everything that once defined his position, Andrew finds himself confined to what Ms Seward describes as a "gilded cage" — with photographers waiting whenever he ventures outside.
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