The Royal Family have taken a stand on whether Prince Andrew will be allowed to return to royal duties amid reports that the disgraced Duke is plotting a comeback.
Prince Andrew was banned from appearing in public at today’s Order of the Garter ceremony – after Charles and William pressured the Queen.
The disgraced Duke, 62had hoped his appearance with the royal family would be a stepping stone to public life.
But members of the royal family feared a “backlash”, The sun reports.
Andrew will only be allowed the private aspects of the Windsor ceremony.
The Queen ordered Andrew to stay out of sight “for his own good” following tense family discussions.
It comes after Charles and William raised fears of a public ‘backlash’ if he was seen in public at a royal engagement.
the dishonored The Duke of York62 was hoping to appear as he plotted a royal comeback.
He asked the Queen, 96, to return her sponsorships and her HRH title – just five months ago after being stripped.
He lost his titles in the middle of the highly damaging case brought against him by sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre38, which led to a multi-million pound payout in February.
A source said: “He was confident and optimistic he can make a comeback.”
But now the Duke will not join family members in their velvet robes and ride to the ceremony at St George’s Chapel, or return by horse-drawn carriage to Windsor Castle.
A source said: “It was a decision taken by the household in the best interests of the family but also in the best interests of the Duke of York.”
Members of the public will gather at the ceremony to see the Royal Family marching – including Camilla, who is made a member of the Knightly Order.
Andrew was instead told he could only attend the private aspects of the ceremony – which has not taken place since 2019 due to Covid.
He had designated this week as the start of his comeback attempts and planned to attend Royal Ascot, which begins tomorrow.
Charles and William reportedly agreed on their approach yesterday before telling the Queen, who made the final decision.
The disgraced duke was due to reunite with other senior royals in their blue velvet robes and black velvet hats with white feathers from 2.30pm today.
The other members of the family will descend on foot from the quadrangle of the castle to the chapel and return by horse-drawn carriage.
Andrew remains a Knight of the Order of the Garter, despite stepping down from his royal duties over his links to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and being stripped of his royal role.
The Order of the Garter – founded by Edward III in 1348 – is Britain’s oldest order of chivalry.
Andrew was still expected at a private ceremony in the Throne Room of the Garter at Windsor Castle, where Camilla will be made Royal Lady of the Garter and former Prime Minister Tony Blair will be made a Knight Companion.
It was also thought that Andrew might attend lunch with the rest of the Knights.
The ceremony was to be Andy’s first public outing since he drove the Queen to Westminster Abbey March 29 for Prince Philip’s Service of Thanksgiving.
It was a decision made by the household in the best interest of the family but also in the best interest of the duke of york.
He missed the platinum jubilee after being diagnosed with Covid-19.
In recent interviews, he demanded a return to public life and the right to use his status as HRH and Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.
But Prince Charles, 73, and Prince William, 39, opposed him.
The sun understands he was hoping to appear at least twice at Royal Ascot this week.
Palace insiders called his attempt to return to royal duties “delusional”.
A source said: “His comeback fight is probably doomed.
“He’s delusional if he thinks Charles or William will ever let him back. The Queen is the only person who has ever supported Andrew.
The Grenadier Guards are unlikely to want Andrew back due to his links to Epstein and the Giuffre scandal, The sun understand.
Andrew also lobbied for his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, to become royals so they could be financially secure and be offered a royal home.
He quit his royal duties after his car accident Newsnight interview about his ties to financier Epstein. But it was thrust back into the limelight when Ms Giuffre launched her legal action last August.
After a series of court hearings in New York, the Duke agreed to settle the case despite strongly denying any wrongdoing.
He agreed to pay up to £12m (A$21m) to his sex abuse accuser and donate to charity rather than go to court.
When the queen stripped him of his titles, the palace said he would ‘continue to hold no public office’ and had been reduced to a ‘private citizen’.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman said last night: ‘The situation in January remains the case.
This article originally appeared in The sun and has been reproduced here with permission
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