Former Prince Andrew’s public isolation has been thrown into harsh light with the Royal Family kicking off the summer with a schedule so full it stands in stark contrast to his totally empty diary.
While King Charles and Queen Camilla, along with Prince and Princess of Wales, attend a succession of high-profile state visits, formal ceremonies and garden parties, the Duke of York has been conspicuously omitted from the busy events. Indeed, the recent shift to a summer timetable is seen by insiders as a significant new phase of public exile for the disgraced royal.
High Profile Royal Events replaced by Private Dog Walks
Sources within the royal circles insist that prior to the Queen’s passing, the summer months represented the busiest period of the year for Andrew.
His summer consisted of mandatory visits to a series of high profile royal events including the Trooping of the Color ceremony, the service of the Order of the Garter and Royal Ascot in addition to a variety of Buckingham Palace garden parties. His new, considerably less active schedule consists of little more than taking his dogs for walks.
“The change in Andrew’s circumstances is dramatic,” a source tells RadarOnline.com. “Not so long ago, summer for Andrew meant a packed season of state occasions-now his days are reduced to keeping out of sight. What you’re looking at is a man who has been pushed to the margins.”
He continues to reside in his Windsor home of Royal Lodge despite ongoing pressures for him to downsize to a smaller royal property. However, insiders claim his isolation in the grounds is also matched by his growing exclusion from social circles. “It feels like a social banishment,” he insider added. “People think twice before being seen with him, and that reluctance only makes the empty spaces in his diary feel even more punishing.”
Despite retaining his title of the Duke of York and being in the line of succession, Prince Andrew is permanently out of a role as a working member of the Royal Family. Following his involvement in a civil sexual assault lawsuit in the US in January 2022 -which was settled out of court-he lost all his military titles and patronages bestowed on him by the late Queen Elizabeth II.
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His presence since the Palace announcement has been restricted to family events, with no part to play in the modern, public facing role of the Royal Family.