Prince William reportedly gave the royal family an ultimatum over the Duke of York’s potential comeback to public events at the Order of the Garter ceremony on Monday.
The Duke of Cambridge is said to have warned that he would “withdraw” from the ceremony if Prince Andrew was given a place in public during the event.
It comes after Andrew was reportedly banned from making any public appearances during the event. It was initially reported that he would be present alongside senior members of the royal family in St George’s Chapel.
Butthe Evening Standard quoted a senior source as saying: “The Duke of Cambridge was adamant. If York insisted on taking part publicly, he would withdraw.”
The decision to bar Andrew from public parts of the ceremony meant he did not take part in the procession of Garter Knights, who walked through the grounds of Windsor Castle.
The Duke stepped back from public duties in 2020 over his links to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and has since been stripped of his honorary military titles and his HRH style.
He paid a multi-million pound settlement on a civil sexual assault case brought against him by Virginia Giuffre, who he claims to have never met. He vehemently denies her allegations that he sexually assaulted her when she was 17, after she was trafficked by Epstein.
Andrew was last seen in public in March, during the memorial service for his late father, the Duke of Edinburgh.
He arrived at Westminster Abbey with the Queen and walked her through the abbey in front of 1,800 people who were gathered to celebrate Prince Philip’s life.
It has been reported that Andrew wanted to appear at the Order of the Garter ceremony to signal his return to public duties.
An unnamed source was quoted by The Telegraph on Sunday as saying: “Most importantly for [Andrew] is his status as an HRH and ‘Prince of the Blood’ and he feels that should be reinstated and his position recognised and respected.”
