Once second in line to the throne , Prince Andrew has suffered a sharp decline in reputation over recent years
The royal, famously said to be The Queen's favourite son, stepped down from public life after the furore over his friendship with paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein. He went on to pay millions to settle a civil sexual assault case to Virginia Giuffre. Before this, the Queen stripped him of all of his honorary military roles, including Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, and he gave up his HRH style.
He was due to be promoted to Admiral in 2020 to mark his 60th birthday, but this did not go ahead following the fallout from his disastrous Newsnight appearance.
Tonight he will join siblings King Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward for the ceremonial guard at Westminster Hall from 7.30pm.
The historic 'Vigil of the Princes' will see the senior royals replicate the ceremonial act they carried in Edinburgh, where they 'took guard' of their late mother's coffin for 10 minutes.
Each sibling stood at one of the four corners of the coffin with the heads bowed as part of the royal cortège known as the 'Vigil of the Princes'.
A ban on the Duke of York wearing military uniform, which has seen him wear a morning suit during public appearances, has been lifted for this occasion.
Duty doubt
According to one royal expert, following the death of the Queen, the Duke of York’s exile from the working monarchy looks certain to be permanent, although he remains a counsellor of state.
Charles is now the new King and any decision about Andrew will fall to him - and he's likely to consult his eldest son, the Prince of Wales.
Mark Stephens, a media lawyer, has previously described the Duke of York as "reputationally toast, and will never appear on a royal balcony ever again and has effectively been airbrushed from polite society and the royal family”.
Heckling
On Monday, as Prince Andrew walked behind his mother's hearse in Edinburgh with his siblings, he was heckled from the crowd. A 22-year-old man was arrested on Monday and charged with “breach of the peace”.
The 22-year-old allegedly shouted "Andrew you're a sick old man" as the Duke of York walked past a crowd gathered in Edinburgh to watch the late Queen's coffin cortege
While Andrew continued his march without further incident, it was a sign of how life could be for him if he returned to royal duties.
Uniform snub
The Duke of York has been permitted to wear military uniform for the state vigil as he mourns The Queen - following a row after Prince Harry was initially refused.
Harry, who saw action on the front line during two tours of duty in Afghanistan, was originally set to be civilian dress for official events including the late monarch’s state funeral.
Only working royals – which Harry and Andrew are not – were initially permitted to dress in uniform at five ceremonial occasions.
These are the St Giles’ Cathedral service in Edinburgh, which took place on Monday, and the coffin’s procession to Westminster Hall, the vigil at the lying in state, the funeral in Westminster Abbey and the committal service in Windsor.
An exception has been made for Andrew who will wear a uniform as a “special mark of respect” for the Queen when he stands guard around her coffin during the Vigil of the Princes.
The Duke of York will join siblings King Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward for the ceremonial guard at Westminster Hall from 7.30pm.
The new monarch gave his younger brother the green light to don his Navy garb despite him having stepped down as a working royal.
* You can now buy last Friday's historic Daily Mirror commemorating the death of the Queen here: mirror.co.uk/commemorative
