When there are royal family gatherings away from the public gaze, Prince Andrew is still welcome. Indeed, he remains eager to be included.
‘The King will not just cast his brother adrift. He is very fond of his nieces [Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie]. And at least [Andrew] hasn’t been disloyal,’ says one source. ‘But any return to public life is out of the question. His legal problems are not resolved, the public don’t want him and many people still remember his rudeness last time round.’
Privately, within diplomatic circles or the county lieutenancies, it is seldom long before mere mention of the Duke of York prompts a rolling of the eyes and a less than flattering anecdote.
One year into the new reign, fresh details about Prince Andrew’s friendship with dead convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continue to surface with embarrassing frequency. For example, in June 2023, U.S.court proceedings threw up email correspondence which suggested the Duke of York was still communicating with the paedophile long after he claimed (during his disastrous 2019 Newsnight interview) to have severed all contact.
It is precisely this potential for further surprises which makes any prospect of public rehabilitation impossible in the foreseeable future.
When there are royal family gatherings away from the public gaze, Prince Andrew is still welcome. Pictured: King Charles with Prince Andrew
Prince Andrew is seen walking with fanancier Jeffrey Epstein (right) in 2011
Royal insiders highlight two other considerations. First, Prince Andrew remains penitent and eager to please, though he might not remain so were he to be cast out of the royal fold. As one source points out: ‘Andrew could be far more damaging outside the loop.’
Second, there are those who fear for his mental well-being. One official, who had known him for many years, was astonished by the transformation in him when they met again, describing him as ‘almost incoherent’.
Whether he remains in residence at the Queen Mother’s spacious former home, Royal Lodge, is another matter.
There will be no eviction order from the King. Contrary to reports that he wanted to give Royal Lodge to Prince William (who, in any case, was not looking for another house move), it is more a question of cost.
Royal Lodge sits outside the main Windsor security cordon and requires separate protection. The King’s position, according to one source, is quite simple: his brother can either foot the annual security bill of around £1 million himself — or move inside the Windsor cordon, where Prince Harry’s old home, Frogmore Cottage, is available.
With no regular private income, Prince Andrew may find that moving there makes more sense. Royal officials would then look to secure a private tenant.
Royal Lodge (pictured) sits outside the main Windsor security cordon and requires separate protection
One year into King Charles’s new reign, fresh details about Prince Andrew’s friendship with dead convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein continue to surface with embarrassing frequency
Previously, Prince Andrew’s huge security bill – following his withdrawal from public life – had been funded by his mother.
‘Andrew was the weak one,’ says a close family friend. ‘She was always protecting him and all that certainly took its toll on her health at the end.’
Her heir, however, was less indulgent. Back in 2019, Prince Andrew had announced he would be withdrawing from public duties – yet, just hours later, he let it be known he would still be pressing ahead with a business visit to Bahrain.
Buckingham Palace did not, initially, intervene. With the Prince of Wales away on a tour of New Zealand, Prince Andrew had been to see the Queen and secured her acquiescence to his plan. No sooner had dawn broken in New Zealand, however, than the Duke’s Bahrain trip was very firmly off. Prince Charles had seen to that.
‘When you get an issue like a Newsnight, which will suddenly get worse, you just have to be brutal and fast,’ says a senior Palace aide. ‘Charles knows that.’
For now, Prince Andrew is still to be found riding around the Windsor estate by way of something to do. So long as he has a (limited) number of family events to shape his year, and the presence of grandchildren to occupy some of his time, he retains some sort of framework to life, albeit with no obvious direction.
Fit, teetotal and still in his early 60s, he seems destined to remain an unanswered question for many years to come.
Adapted from Charles III New King. New Court. The Inside Story by Robert Hardman, to be published by Macmillan on January 18 at £22. © Robert Hardman 2024. To order a copy for £17.60 (offer valid until February 29, 2024; UK P&P free on orders over £25) go to mailshop.co.uk/ books or call 020 3176 2937