While The Royal Family gathered beneath the chandeliers of
Buckingham Palace for their traditional pre-Christmas luncheon, one
familiar figure was conspicuous by his absence. Andrew
Mountbatten-Windsor was seen instead riding through Windsor Great
Park, hunched against the rain, a solitary presence far removed
from the seasonal warmth on offer in London.
As seen in MailOnline, the
former prince, long sidelined following controversies connected to
his association with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein,
cut a forlorn figure as he exercised his horse in driving weather.
The contrast could scarcely have been sharper. Only a short
distance away, his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie,
arrived smiling at the Palace, where they were welcomed by King
Charles alongside the senior working royals.
The King and Queen were joined by the Prince and Princess of
Wales, who attended with their children, Prince George, Princess
Charlotte and Prince Louis. Also present were the Duke and Duchess
of Edinburgh with their daughter, Lady Louise Windsor, as well as a
scattering of the wider family, including the Duke of Kent, Lady
Sarah Chatto and Princess Alexandra.
For Eugenie, the occasion offered a carefully judged nod to
festive cheer. She wore playful candy-cane earrings, a
light-hearted flourish following what has been a bruising year for
the York family. Both sisters have, in recent months, kept a
notably lower profile, missing the Princess of Wales’s carol
service earlier this month. Their reappearance at the Palace lunch,
however, suggested a deliberate effort to draw a distinction
between the daughters and the disgraced father they have sought to
support privately while distancing themselves publicly.
Andrew’s absence was widely interpreted as intentional rather
than coincidental. It came shortly after the Metropolitan Police
confirmed that they would take no further action over allegations
that he had attempted to use a police officer to gather information
about Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexual assault – claims
he has consistently denied. Though the matter is closed from a
policing perspective, the reputational damage lingers.
Sources close to the Palace have previously indicated that the
King is determined not to visit the consequences of Andrew’s
conduct upon Beatrice and Eugenie. Their inclusion at the lunch
reinforced that approach, even as their father remains firmly
excluded from royal gatherings of this kind.
The Christmas lunch, held each year before the royal family
decamps to Sandringham for the holiday itself, is as much a
statement as a social occasion. This year’s guest list underlined a
quiet but unmistakable message: reconciliation may be extended to
some, but for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the cold shoulder
endures.