The Duke of York will not take part in the traditional Garters Day procession at Windsor Castle after a “family decision” that will once again keep him out of the public eye.
While Prince Andrew, as a knight with garters, will attend the ceremony of the new members of the ancient Knights and the annual lunch, he will not go with others from Windsor Castle down to St. George’s Chapel, it was confirmed.
The latest development comes after unconfirmed reports that Andrew wants to find a way to create a return to some form of public life, including regaining his honorary military role as a colonel in the Grenadier Guard.
The queen is expected to attend the garter and lunch, but not the procession, according to sources.
The news that the Duke of York will not take part in the procession was followed by a message in the Sun that he was banned from appearing after the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Cambridge lobbied the Queen. High-ranking officials feared a “backlash,” the paper said, adding that Charles and William had agreed to their approach before telling the queen, who had made the final decision.
The palace aides would only say that this is a “family decision”.
Andrew missed the platinum anniversary celebrations after testing positive for Covid-19. Although the Queen had decided that neither he nor the Duke and Duchess of Sussex should appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with the working royalty, they were invited to the Thanksgiving service at St. Paul’s Cathedral. However, it was then announced that Andrew had a coronavirus and would not be present.
His last public engagement was the memorial service for the Duke of Edinburgh in March, when he escorted his mother.
On Sunday, the Telegraph quoted an unnamed source as saying: “A colonel from the Grenadier Guard was his most coveted title and he wants it back. After remaining a state councilor, he also believes that he should be involved in royal and state events.
“The most important thing for him is his status as an NGO and the Prince of Blood, and he believes that this should be restored and his position recognized and respected.
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Andrew resigned from public office after his controversial Newsnight interview about his friendship with billionaire financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The Duke of York was then facing a civil sexual assault lawsuit in the United States by Virginia Juffre, who was trafficked by Epstein and accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her when she was 17 years old. Andrew denied the allegations, but settled the case for £ 12 million.
In January, before his case was settled, the Queen stripped him of his honorary military roles, including a colonel in the Grenadier Guard, and he relinquished his status as an HRH.
During the service on Monday, the Duchess of Cornwall will be installed as the Royal Lady of the Order of the Garters. A protest is also expected in Windsor against the appointment of Tony Blair as a knight with garters, with more than 1.5 million signatures collected under a petition calling for the knights to be “canceled”.
The Labor colleague and former cabinet minister, Lady Valerie Amos, will be the first black man to be appointed by the Queen to the Order of the Garters.
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