I was quite young when I developed a distaste for the institution of monarchy.

It was when I first heard some crawlers on TV referring to the Queen Mother as “the nation’s favourite grandmother”.

She wasn’t my favourite grandmother. My actual grandmothers were my favourite grandmothers.

Much was made of the Queen Mother’s longevity, dying in March 2002 at the age of 101. Then I suppose if you’re provided throughout your life with the best food and the best health care, you live in a lavish palace and your job is no more physically strenuous than waving or smiling, there’s a lot in your favour.

One of my grandmothers lived to be 79 and the other lived to 94. But they both had to work for a living, not to mention run a household without maids to do the cleaning, cooks to prepare the meals or nannies to look after the children.

It’s not just excellent food, health care, education and housing that the royals get. You would assume they’d also get the best public relations advice that taxpayers’ money can buy.

It’s this that makes Prince Andrew’s disastrous TV interview on Saturday night all the more bewildering. Was there no expert advice?

The “Duke of York” went on a special edition of Newsnight in an attempt to explain away his friendship with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein – and refute the allegations that he had had sex with an underage girl himself.

It was a high-risk strategy, and it sounds as if he chose to ignore the warnings. After the interview we learnt that the head of Prince Andrew’s communications team quit a couple of weeks ago, having unsuccessfully urged him not to do the interview.

And it was soon obvious how badly prepared he was.

He didn’t regret his friendship with Epstein, saying it had been “a learning opportunity”.

But he did regret the friendship when he learnt that Epstein “quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming”. I suppose “unbecoming” is one way to describe sex offenders.

The only mistake he admitted was his decision to visit Epstein after his release from prison.

He wanted to break off relations face to face - though couldn’t explain why he stayed for four days at Epstein’s home, even attending a dinner party held in his honour.

The photo of him with his arm around the teenage girl who made the accusation was possibly faked, as he had “no recollection” of it.

However he conceded: “That is what I would describe as me in that picture.” It wasn’t the most convincing of statements.

Were other statements more convincing? We were invited to distrust the accuser because she said Andrew was sweating heavily in a nightclub before the alleged offence. Andrew claims that he didn’t sweat, because of a medical condition he developed after being shot at in the Falklands War.

No doubt he supposed that mentioning the Falklands would win him support. I’ve spoken to a few Falklands veterans and veterans of other conflicts, and some have spoken of the after-effects. But none said they were left unable to sweat.

He seemed to be trying to come across as a man who was trying to do the right thing but got it wrong. He visited his old friend the paedophile because “I was too honourable.” We’ll all feel sorry for him.

He showed no sympathy at all for Epstein’s victims. Indeed the only person he felt sorry for was himself.

The whole matter had been largely forgotten. He has put it back on the front pages.

If Andrew’s not going to take the advice of public relations experts, he might at least have asked advice from his older brother, who would surely have warned him against granting interviews. It didn’t turn out well for him.

On June 29, 1994 a two-hour documentary about Prince Charles was screened. He talked at length about his good works, his role, his views on religion, Britain’s future and so on.

No-one remembers any of that. All they remember is his confession to Jonathan Dimbleby that he had cheated on Princess Diana. His adultery was already public knowledge, but it was the first time he had admitted it himself.

The young princes, with their attractive wives and small children. are supposed to be helping restore royal popularity. Prince Andrew undermined all that in less than an hour.

He should have followed the approach his mother is known for: Never complain, never explain.