I REALLY do want to like the Duchess of York but the more she opens her mouth in public, the less chance there is.

If she’s not setting up deals for businessmen to meet her former husband Prince Andrew, she’s writing books of toe-curling (or should that be toesucking?) intensity like Finding Sarah: A Duchess’s Journey, or whingeing on American TV that she should have been at the Royal Wedding “with her girls”.

Her unstuffy approach long ago made her a welcome addition to the Royal Family but her unpredictable behaviour proved to be an embarrassment. The British public would think far more of her if she actually did something that wasn’t linked to money or telling the world how nice she is. But I suspect that the reaction to this criticism would be one of total bewilderment.