Prince Andrew has attended church in Balmoral with senior royals in an apparent show of unity which insiders say marks an end to any talk of a “family divided”.
The Duke of York was seen with the Prince and Princess of Wales on Sunday as part of the
Prince Andrew attends Balmoral church service ‘in show of family unity’
Danielle Sheridan, Camilla Tominey, Victoria Ward
Daily Telegraph UK·
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Prince Andrew's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein forced him to stand down from front-line royal duties in 2019. Photo / AP
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Earlier this year the King cut back on the annual allowance of £249,000 (NZ$531,000) on which Prince Andrew now depends.
Prince William played a central role, along with the King, in stripping the Duke of his military titles.
The display of family harmony comes as the Royal family are preparing to mark the first anniversary of the Queen’s passing. She died at Balmoral on September 8 last year.
Buckingham Palace has already confirmed that the King will mark the day “quietly and privately”.
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Royal sources told The Telegraph that the Duke, who was pictured in the front passenger seat beside Prince William, was in Balmoral with “all the Yorks, including the Duchess”.
“Safe to say it’s a holiday where the entire family has been invited, the entire family are participating and the entire family are included,” they added.
“Anyone looking for a family divided angle will be sorely disappointed.”
Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty Magazine, said the family holiday in Scotland was “an indication that the situation with the Duke of York hasn’t got any worse, it hasn’t deteriorated”.
“In private things remain fine,” Little said.
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‘There will always be a close relationship’
“The Duke of York may not be regarded as a working member of the Royal family, but he will always be a member of the Royal Family, that situation will never change.”
He said that while the outward public persona of the Royal family “is very different nowadays”, it was the case that the “familial relationship will never change”.
“He will forever be the King’s brother, and then the King’s uncle, so there will always be a close relationship with the monarch,” Little added.
Prince Philip’s memorial service at Westminster Abbey in March 2022, was a reminder that blood has always been thicker than water with the Royal family.
There was some frustration at the time that the Duke controversially played such a central role in the ceremony, with many having expected him to completely disappear from public life after paying his accuser Virginia Guiffre a reported £12 million settlement.
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Giuffre, formerly Roberts, alleged she was forced to have sex with the Duke after being trafficked by Epstein.
Prince Andrew denies the allegations and did not admit any liability on settling the case with Guiffre.
The consensus among courtiers was that the Duke should never appear at another royal occasion.
However Sunday’s show of unity ahead of such an important anniversary suggests the Firm has other ideas.
“What we are seeing now is what would have happened in the previous reign,” Little added.
“At the time the Queen died the Duke travelled in the same car as the now Prince of Wales to Balmoral. There has always been a private family engagement, despite the fact we rarely see the Duke of York in public these days, other than big family occasions.”
Little added: “If there was a heightened degree of animosity between them then it’s unlikely the Duke of York would be enjoying his brother’s hospitality at Balmoral right now.”