Despite “stepping back” from royal duties in 2019 amid backlash surrounding his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, Prince Andrew joined his brother King Charles and members of the royal family for their Easter church outing on April 20.
The Duke of York, 65, arrived at the mass in a car with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, as well as sister Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence. His two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, also joined the holiday outing with their husbands.
Prince Andrew stepped back from his public duties in 2019 following his bombshell interview with the BBC about his ties to Epstein. He was stripped of his military titles and patronages by his mother, Queen Elizabeth, in January 2022 after attempting to have Virginia Giuffre’s sexual assault lawsuit against him dismissed.
The Duke of York has denied any wrongdoing and settled with Giuffre out of court for an undisclosed amount in February 2022.
While Prince Andrew no longer undertakes duties on behalf of the monarchy, he has continued to join the royals at family events such as their annual Christmas church walk or funeral services. Easter is considered a family event, and he also attended last year.
However, Queen Elizabeth’s second son did not publicly attend Christmas events with the royal family in 2024 amid backlash around his suspected connection to an alleged Chinese “spy.” He skipped the traditional Christmas luncheon on Dec. 19 as well as their church outing on Christmas Day.
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Buckingham Palace released a rare statement regarding Prince Andrew earlier this month, clarifying private meetings between Andrew, Andrew’s former aide Dominic Hampshire and King Charles. Testimony by Hampshire alleged the brothers discussed the Eurasia Fund, a project of Prince Andrew’s that aimed at linking Chinese funding with renewable energy projects in Africa that came under scrutiny for ties to an alleged Chinese spy. Yang Tengbo was said to be a close confidant of Andrew’s before being barred from entering the U.K. in December 2024 over concerns of national security.
The palace said, “While His Majesty met with the Duke and his adviser to hear outline proposals for independent funding over the past year, the individual known as H6 was not mentioned at any time or in any way as part of these discussions.”
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