The royal family has taken a stance on whether Prince Andrew will be allowed to return to royal duties amid reports that the disgraced duke plans to return.
Prince Andrew has been banned from appearing in public at today’s Order of the Garter ceremony after Charles and William lobbied the Queen.
The disgraced duke, 62, hoped that his appearance in the royal family would be a springboard for a return to public life.
But senior members of the royal family feared a “backlash” Sun reports.
Andrew will only be allowed access to private aspects of the Windsor Ceremony.
The Queen ordered Andrew to stay out of sight “for his own good” after tense family conversations.
This came after Charles and William expressed concerns about a public “backlash” if he was seen in public at a royal engagement.
The disgraced Duke of York, 62, was looking to show up as he plotted a royal comeback.
He asked the 96-year-old queen to return to him patronage and the title of His Royal Highness – just five months ago, after he lost them.
He lost his titles in a hugely damaging case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, 38, a sexual harassment accuser, which resulted in a multi-million dollar payout in February.
A source said: “He was confident and optimistic that he could return.”
But now the Duke will not join the family in their velvet robes and go to the ceremony at St George’s Chapel or take the carriage back to Windsor Castle.
A source said: “This decision was made by the household in the best interest of the family and also in the best interest of the Duke of York.”
Members of the public will gather for the ceremony to see the royal family walk, including Camilla, who becomes a member of the order of chivalry.
Instead, Andrew was told that he could only attend the private aspects of the ceremony, which had not taken place since 2019 due to Covid.
He marked this week as the start of his return attempts and planned to visit Royal Ascot starting tomorrow.
As far as is known, Charles and William agreed on their approach yesterday before informing the Queen, who made the final decision.
The disgraced duke was expected to assemble with other members of the royal family in blue velvet robes and black velvet hats with white feathers today from 2:30 p.m.
The rest of the family will walk from the Castle Quadrangle down the slope to the chapel and return in carriages.
Andrew remains a Knight of the Order of the Garter despite stepping down from royal office due to his ties to the dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and being stripped of his royal role.
The Order of the Garter, founded by Edward III in 1348, is the oldest British order of chivalry.
Andrew was still expected at a private ceremony in the Garter Throne Room at Windsor Castle, where Camilla would become the Queen’s Garter Lady and former Prime Minister Tony Blair would become the Knight’s Companion.
It was also believed that Andrew might attend the dinner with the rest of the knights.
The ceremony was to be Andy’s first public appearance since he escorted the Queen to Westminster Abbey for Prince Philip’s thanksgiving service on March 29.
This decision was made by the house in the interests of the family, as well as in the interests of the Duke of York.
He missed the platinum anniversary after being diagnosed with Covid-19.
During recent negotiations, he demanded a return to public life and the right to use his status as His Royal Highness and Colonel of the Grenadier Guards.
But Prince Charles, 73, and Prince William, 39, stood in his way.
Sun understands that he hoped to appear at least twice this week at the Royal Ascot.
Palace insiders called his proposal to return to royal duties “nonsense”.
A source said, “His comeback fight is probably doomed.
“He is delusional if he thinks that Charles or William will ever let him go. The Queen is the only person who has ever supported Andrew.”
The Grenadier Guard is unlikely to want Andrew back because of his ties to Epstein and the Giuffre scandal. Sun understands.
Andrew also pushed for his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, to become working members of the royal family so that they could be financially secure and receive a royal house as a gift.
He gave up royal duties after a car accident news night interview about his connections with the financier Epstein. But he was back in the public eye when Ms Giuffre filed a lawsuit 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 £12 million (AU$21 million) to his sexual assault accuser and donate to charity rather than go to court.
When the queen stripped him of his titles, the palace said he “continues to perform no public duties” and was demoted to “private citizen”.
A spokesman for Buckingham Palace said last night: “The situation in January remains the same.”
This article originally appeared in Sun and reproduced here with permission