The Duke of York has tested positive for Covid and will no longer attend the anniversary service for the Queen at St. Paul’s Cathedral, Buckingham Palace said.
Prince Andrew was due to appear at the service on Friday, June 3, which would be the largest gathering of the royal family since the wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018.
This was also to be the only official platinum jubilee event the duke would attend.
A palace spokesman said: “After taking a routine test, the duke has tested positive for Covid and will unfortunately no longer attend tomorrow’s service.
Of course, Andrew has seen the queen in the last few days, but he has done regular tests and has not seen her since he tested positive.
The duke’s last public appearance was at the memorial service for the late Prince Philip in March.
At the service, Andrew surprised those present when he led the Queen through Westminster Abbey to the 1,800-member congregation.
This was the first time the duke had attended a public event since reaching an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Juffre, who accused him of sexual assault when he was 17 years old.
Andrew, who has consistently said he does not remember ever meeting Juffre and categorically denied her allegations, paid a settlement of several million pounds, including damages to Juffre and a charity donation in the civil case against him.
He resigned from his royal duties in November 2019 after allegations of his friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew was also stripped of his honorary military titles and royal patronage in January this year and can no longer use his HRH style.
He did not appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the Queen, Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge during the “Color Trouping” on Thursday.
Earlier, Buckingham Palace said the Queen had limited the appearance of the balcony to working members of the royal family after “careful consideration”.
Also absent from the balcony were the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who retired from their royal duties in 2020. The couple watched a parade from the Major General’s office.
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