Prince Andrew was banned from the Order of the Garter ceremony on Monday after Charles, Prince of Wales, and Prince William lobbied the Queen, The Sun cited sources as saying.
The disgraced Duke of York, 62, is thought to have reckoned he would be able to use his appearance with the Royal Family at the annual procession from Windsor Castle to St George’s Chapel as a “plot” to springboard himself back to public life.
“He was confident and bullish he could make a comeback,” a source was cited as saying.
Prince Charles, heir apparent to the British throne as the Queen's and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh's eldest son, and his son, Prince William, raised fears of a public “backlash” if the Duke of York were to be seen in public at a royal engagement, stated insiders.
Front row from left, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, Britain's Prince Charles, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Britain's Princess Anne, Tim Laurence, and Britain's Prince Andrew, attend a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh at Westminster Abbey in London, Tuesday, March 29, 2022
© AP Photo / Dominic Lipinski
Prince Andrew was told to stay out of sight on Monday “for his own good” after tense talks with the Queen, a source told The Sun. Though it is believed the Duke challenged the ban, his attempts fell through.
Prince Andrew was only allowed to attend private aspects of the Windsor ceremony - the investiture in the castle’s Garter throne room and the traditional lunch that takes place afterwards in the Waterloo Chamber.
A source close to the Duke of York claimed that it was his own “personal decision” to scrap the public appearance. According to The Sun, Prince Andrew had also hoped to appear at least twice at Royal Ascot, starting this week. Palace insiders were cited as branding the Duke’s bid to return to royal duties “delusional”.
Earlier, a report in The Daily Telegraph revealed that the 96-year old monarch’s son had been pushing for a return to royal duties and wanted once more to be Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.
Talks about his future were allegedly being conducted behind palace walls, but the prince, claim insiders, is unlikely to get what he wants.
Prince Andrew was stripped of his patronages and HRH title amid the sex abuse allegations brought against him by an alleged Jeffrey Epstein victim, Virginia Roberts Giuffre. However, he struck an out-of-court multi-million-pound settlement with his accuser in February, while denying all the accusations. The Duke of York remains a Knight of the Order of the Garter, despite stepping down from royal duties because of his links to the late convicted paedophile Epstein.
Prince Andrew was forced to miss the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee events after being diagnosed with COVID-19. His last public outing was when he walked the Queen into Westminster Abbey on 29 March for Prince Philip’s Thanksgiving service.