Prince Andrew will no longer attend the public elements of the Garter Day celebrations on Monday (12.06.22).
Prince Andrew won't be at the public parts of Garter Day
The Duke of York was set to take part in the entirety of the Order of the Garter ceremony at Windsor Castle as a member of the order, including a service inside St. George's Chapel, the grand procession, and the traditional members lunch.
However, he will reportedly now only be involved in the private elements of the day, including sitting down with his mother, Queen Elizabeth, and other Garter Knights for lunch, and a ceremony in the castle's Garter Throne Room, where his sister-in-law, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, will be made a Royal Lady of the Garter and former Prime Minister Tony Blair will be made a Knight Companion.
The 62-year-old prince had his royal patronages and military titles returned to the queen earlier this year as he prepared to face civil action from Virginia Guiffre.
Virginia - who was formerly known as Virginia Roberts - accused convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who took his own life in August 2019, and his one-time girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell of arranging and forcing her into having sex with Andrew in 2001.
Andrew strongly denied the allegation that he sexually abused Giuffre when she was under 18 years of age but weeks before a civil trial was due to start, he settled the case out of court with a reported $12 million payment to his accuser, including a donation to her sex trafficking charity.
He has largely kept out of the public eye since, but in April, he attended a service of thanksgiving for his late father, Prince Philip, where he escorted his mother to her seat at Westminster Abbey.
While he was not expected to play a role in last weekend's Platinum Jubilee celebrations, he had been planning to attend a service at St. Paul's Cathedral, but pulled out after contracting COVID-19.
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