Prince Andrew ‘banned’ from royal service as Prince William, Charles 'block' return

Prince Andrew has been ‘banned’ from appearing in public at the prestigious Garter Day service today at Windsor, Buckingham Palace confirmed earlier today.

As per Mirror UK, a Palace spokesman revealed that while Prince Andrew will be attending a private lunch and investiture ceremony for new members of the Order of the Garter, he will not be participating in the royal procession.

The spokesman was quoted saying: “The Duke of York will attend the investiture and lunch today but will not be part of the procession or service.”

The outlet also reported that it appears that the decision to block Prince Andrew from the ceremony was a ‘family decision’; the Duke of York lost his military titles and HRH status after being accused of sexual assault and being involved in a civil sex case lawsuit earlier this year.

It is pertinent to mention that the Queen herself will not be part of the procession either, owing to her growing mobility and health issues.

It is also being reported that Andrew’s public return as a royal was lobbied against by Prince Charles and Prince William, the heirs to the throne, who convinced the Queen to not allow Andrew to take part in the procession.

Both William and Charles were said to have been afraid of severe public backlash over Andrew’s involvement in royal engagements; he was last seen at a royal event at his late father, Prince Philip’s, memorial service in March.