Buckingham Palace left in limbo as Andrew considering his next move in fresh headache for Royal Family
Buckingham Palace has been left in limbo as the institution is unable to confirm whether Prince Andrew will turn up for the King’s pre-Christmas lunch on Thursday.
The names of the Duke of York and his ex-wife, Sarah, remain on the guest list of the festive party for around 70 members of the extended Royal Family at Buckingham Palace.
It’s claimed Andrew has insisted he has every right to attend.
He is said to have told friends “he should be there”, at the family occasion according to the Mail.
Royal aides were said to be relieved on Monday after it was revealed the Duke of York had decided to spare his brother’s blushes by pulling out of the official festive celebrations and the walk to church at Sandringham next week amid the furore over his association with an alleged spy.
However, each year the monarch also invites his large extended family including aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews who don’t make the cut to Sandringham, to meet up for a big festive meal in London.
Sources said on Tuesday that they still had ‘no idea’ whether Andrew will show up and may not even be sure until they see who pulls up at the gates.
In the meantime, senior royal aides are optimistically operating on the “working assumption” that the Duke will “see sense” again and decide to “keep his head down”.
They feel his presence would send a “conflicting and confusing message” having taken what was described as ‘the gentlemanly option’ over Sandringham.
The lunch is private, but guests are usually photographed going in and out of the palace gates.
Andrew could try to sneak in undetected but sources have told the Mail he should either come through the front door or not at all “preferably the latter”.
A statement from the Duke of York’s office addressed the spy allegations on Friday, saying: “The Duke of York followed advice from His Majesty’s Government and ceased all contact with the individual after concerns were raised.”
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The statement added: “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.”
Earlier this week it was announced that Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson had withdraw from the annual gathering at Sandringham.
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson will instead spend December 25 at their shared home, Royal Lodge, on the Windsor estate, where they continue to live together despite their 1996 divorce.
The couple had initially been expected to stay at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate, as they did last year when Ferguson made her first public appearance at the royal Christmas in three decades.