Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson Will Not Be at Royal Family's Christmas Celebrations
12/16/2024 11:36 AM
The Duke and Duchess of York and their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie have declined the invitation from King Charles
The royal Christmas celebrations at Sandringham just got a bit smaller.
Prince Andrew, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie and their respective families will not join the annual get-together hosted by King Charles.
PEOPLE understands that Andrew, 64, and Fergie, 65, will stay away, most likely spending the festive day at Royal Lodge, the home they live in on the Windsor Castle estate. The Daily Mail was the first to report the story.
The move came just hours after reports emerged that questioned whether Andrew would join the royals for Christmas morning church and then lunch at Sandringham House amid reports of his alleged connections to a suspected Chinese spy.
Andrew, his ex-wife Fergie (as she is popularly known) and their daughters had been widely expected to join the family and stay at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate for the Christmas holiday, as they did last year — but Andrew was under pressure to stay away and out of the spotlight at such a prominent time for the royal family because of the recent scandal.
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PEOPLE understands the princesses had invitations spend Christmas with their respective in-laws some time ago and have decided to do so. Their attendance at Sandringham had been in question, one insider says.
By staying away, Prince Andrew has taken the issue out of older brother King Charles' hands.
What isn't known is if Prince Andrew will go to the family's other major Christmas party, held for the wider family on Thursday, Dec. 19. King Charles was in a tricky situation as he has shown support for his younger brother Andrew in recent years, inviting him and Fergie to join in the public side of the Christmas festivities in 2023. But, mindful of political and public pressure around Andrew's ties to the alleged Chinese spy, pressure is rising for action to be taken, and Charles would not want to be forced to ban Andrew from attending.
Buckingham Palace had no comment.
The furor over Andrew's links with the Chinese businessman is the latest controversy to engulf him and thrust him back onto the front pages of U.K. newspapers. Andrew was forced to step back from public duties following his bombshell interview with the BBC about his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which aired in November 2019, just over five years ago.
During that interview, Andrew also said he had "no recollection of ever meeting" Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who alleged she was forced to have sex with the royal three times between 1999 and 2002, including on a private Caribbean island owned by Epstein, when she was 17 years old. Epstein died in prison while awaiting federal sex trafficking charges in August 2019.
Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and announced his step back from royal duties a few days after the explosive interview aired. The royal said he continued to "unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein" in the official statement announcing his decision.
The transition was made official when the late Queen Elizabeth stripped Andrew of his military titles and patronages in January 2022 amid Giuffre's civil sexual assault lawsuit. An out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed sum was reached the following month.
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More recently, King Charles reportedly cut Prince Andrew's allowance off this past summer. Andrew is reported to have found the funds to enable him to stay at Royal Lodge after a suggestion that he might move to Frogmore Cottage, which has been vacated by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle following their move to the United States.