Prince Andrew will not be returning as a working member of the royal family under Prince William’s reign, according to insiders.
The Prince and Princess of Wales reportedly see the disgraced Duke of York, 65, as a “threat” to the Firm — and the future king refuses to even explore the premise of allowing him to return to public-facing duties.
In fact, William, 43, believes that Andrew’s previous connections to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, make him a “risk” to the monarchy, the Times of London reports.
Earlier this year, it emerged that the former working royal’s business adviser had been accused of being a Chinese spy.
Andrew was embroiled in yet another scandal when Tengbo was sensationally banned from entering the UK following an MI5 investigation.
As a result, William has been “adamant” about his uncle not returning to the royal fold.
“The door to a return is firmly closed,” an insider previously told The Sun.
The Post has reached out to Kensington Palace for comment.
William’s most recent run-in with his scandal-scarred uncle was on Easter Sunday, when the duke joined the rest of the royals at St George’s Chapel in Windsor.
The prince actively avoided interacting with Andrew throughout the service.
More recently, Andrew was excluded from last week’s Garter Day ceremony for the fourth consecutive year.
The royal sit-out took place just days after this year’s Trooping the Colour ceremony — an event Prince Andrew did not participate in, nor did his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
It’s been widely reported that both King Charles and Prince William are keen to limit Andrew’s public appearances with the rest of the royals.
When the duke stepped down as a working royal shortly after his friendship with disgraced financier Epstein came to light, he was kept at arm’s length by Charles and the rest of the Windsor clan.
William has previously signaled that he is carving out his own path as the future monarch, saying he’s trying to do things “differently” when asked about his outlook on the future of the Firm.
“I’m doing it with maybe a smaller ‘r’ in the royal, if you like,” he said last year during a four-day trip to Cape Town for the Earthshot Prize awards.
The future king described his eventual reign as more of a “collaboration,” with “helping people” remaining at the center of his core values.
“I’m also going to throw empathy in there as well because I really care about what I do,” he added.
It’s believed that William may also get back to the drawing board when it comes to slimming down the monarchy, as his estranged brother Prince Harry remains detached from the Windsor clan.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
