Prince Andrew will reportedly be attending a memorial service for his father Prince Philip next Tuesday, with courtiers believing he will retire from public life afterwards.
Despite risking being a major distraction from the service, Prince Andrew, 62, will be attending the Prince Philip thanksgiving memorial service on the 29th of March at Westminster Abbey.
The event that will commemorate Prince Philip’s life has been organised by Queen Elizabeth II, 95, who is celebrating the year of her Platinum Jubilee, which marks 70 years of service to the British people.
Royal sources speaking to the Daily Mail said that they believe Andrew will “disappear from public life” after the memorial for his father.
The Duke of York first distanced himself from public duties in 2019 after billionaire in light of his connections to diseased paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Following an out-of-court settlement with Epstein accuser Virginia Roberts née Giuffre, who claimed Prince Andrew sexually assaulted her when she was 17, Andrew has since avoided major public appearances. Andrew has continued to maintain his innocence, however.
Andrew was visibly not present at the Commonwealth Service in Westminster Abbey on the 14th of March despite other senior royals attending including the Prince of Wales and Camilla as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
Despite calls from Buckingham Palace officials for him to lose the position, Andrew remains one of the Queen’s four Counsellors of State which would technically allow the Prince to carry out the Queen’s duties such as attending Privy Council meetings (meetings between senior Parliamentarians and the monarchy) or signing official documents if the Queen was conducting business overseas or became ill and the other Counsellors were unavailable.
Prince Harry – another Counsellor of State – will not be attending the event for Prince Philip as he is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with Britain’s Home Office who have refused to grant him a police escort when he visits the United Kingdom – even if he pays for it – with Harry seemingly boycotting Britain until he is allowed to hire the police as a private guard, claiming he “does not feel safe”.