When King Charles leads the Royal family on their traditional Christmas Day walk to St Mary Magdalene church, one notable absence will draw attention: his embattled younger brother, the Duke of York.
It was revealed earlier this week that Prince Andrew had struck up a close friendship with an alleged Chinese spy, who has been banned from the UK.
It is the latest in a string of controversies faced by Andrew in recent years, the most notable being his resignation which came after his links to paedophile financier Jeffery Epstein came to light.
As the royals battled yet another PR crisis at the hands of the duke, his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York, has convinced him to step away from the family’s Christmas celebrations - saving the King the awkward task of formally uninviting him amid the furore.
Fergie made a return to the royal fold last December, joining the family for their annual Christmas Day walkabout for the first time in 30 years – a significant moment after her high-profile divorce from Andrew in 1996.
But instead of returning to the estate for festivities this year, she and Andrew have been sidelined and will likely remain at their Royal Lodge home on the Windsor grounds instead - missing the high-profile walk to Mary Magdalene church, gift swapping in in Sandringham’s White Room and a Boxing Day shoot.
Though their daughters, Princess Beatrice, 36, and Princess Eugenie, 34, are understood to have already made plans to spend Christmas with their respective in-laws, royal insiders have speculated the arrangements could alter to ensure their divorced parents do not spend the day alone at the Royal Lodge.
Royal biographer Ingrid Seward believes that the Yorks may now join Beatrice, her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozz.
“Somehow or other, I think that Fergie and Andrew will be with Beatrice, Edo and the kids, either at Royal Lodge or the in-laws,” she told The Telegraph.
“[Beatrice] is very close to her father and will want to support him and be with him at this time. I cannot possibly see Fergie sitting alone at Royal Lodge. She has lots of friends and family and would want to be with them. Andrew possibly wouldn’t mind. He would sit there in front of the TV, but Sarah would organise something with Beatrice.”
Meanwhile Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank, 38, stay in Ivy Cottage, on the Kensington Palace grounds with their sons August, three, and Ernest, 18 months.
Although they had planned to spend Christmas with Jack’s widowed mother Nicola, she is only 50 miles away in Hampshire.
Despite having separated in 1992, Sarah and Andrew are still close and live together at the 30-room lodge on the Windsor estate.
Prior to Andrew’s family taking up residence in the Royal Lodge, it was occupied by King George VI and the Queen Mother when they were still the Duke and Duchess of York. Princesses Elizabeth and Margaret spent much time at the Royal Lodge, which was used by the family as a country retreat.
The duke had signed a 75-year lease on the mansion in 2003, which entitles him to stay at Royal Lodge for £250 a week and meant Charles has no legal grounds to evict him from the property.
Earlier this year it was reported Andrew refused an offer to move out of Royal Lodge into the nearby Frogmore Cottage, and speculation has since grown that Charles wants him out.
Their relationship has likely been further strained following this week’s furore, which has seen the duke drawn into court proceedings surrounding the alleged spy, Yang Tengbo, whose appeal against exclusion from the UK was dismissed by a specialist tribunal last Thursday.
At a hearing in July, the tribunal was told that an adviser to Prince Andrew claimed he could act on the Duke’s behalf when engaging with potential investors in China.
Yang, who was reportedly invited to the Duke’s birthday party in 2020, denied any wrongdoing, stating: “The widespread description of me as a ‘spy’ is entirely untrue.”
On Friday, a statement from the Duke’s office said: “The Duke of York followed advice from His Majesty’s Government and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised. The Duke met the individual through official channels with nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed. He is unable to comment further on matters relating to national security.”
