Prince Andrew set to snatch back spotlight as he is tipped to appear at Garter Day
PRINCE ANDREW will reportedly return to the spotlight next month to attend Garter Day alongside other Royal Family members.
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The Duke of York will be among the Royal Knights attending Garter Day, one of the key events in the royal calendar, on June 13, it has been claimed. And his presence will be listed in the Court Circular, the registry normally taking note of all the official events attended by working royals, on the following day.
A Palace source told the Telegraph Prince Andrew's inclusion in the Court Circular would be "standard practice".
The diary only registers events attended by full-time working members of the Royal Family.
However, when it comes to major royal engagements such as the memorial service of Prince Philip or Garter Day, non-working members of the Firm in attendance are also listed among the participants.
The Garter Day ceremony takes place every year at Windsor Castle.
This year's Garter Day will be particularly important for the Firm, as it marks the return of the event for the first time since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Moreover, among those being invested in the country's oldest and most senior Order of Chivalry this year there will be Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Prince Charles's wife was granted this honour by the Queen on New Year's Eve, a lasting sign of the Queen's trust in the future Queen Consort and her growing prominence within the Firm.
Camilla has been the first Royal Companion to be created since 2008, when the monarch named Prince William a Knight of the Order.
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While this ceremony will certainly be poignant, Prince Andrew's attendance could overshadow it as it happened with the memorial service for Prince Philip in March.
On that occasion, the Duke accompanied his mother the Queen from Windsor to Westminster Abbey and played the prominent role to walk with her down the nave of the church.
Prince Andrew stepped back from public duties in November 2019, following his disastrous interview with Emily Maitlis all focused on his association with Jeffrey Epstein.
In August last year, Virginia Giuffre launched a civil lawsuit against the Queen's second son, accusing him of sexual assault.
The Duke has repeatedly and vehemently rejected any allegations of wrongdoing.
In January, the day after New York Judge Lewis A. Kaplan rejected Andrew's lawyers' request to throw out the case, Buckingham Palace announced the royal had returned his military and royal patronages to the Queen and would defend himself against the civil lawsuit as a private citizen.
The Palace also said the Duke would continue not to perform any official royal duty.
And royal sources added he would not be allowed to use his HRH styles in any official capacity.
A few weeks later, the Duke and Ms Giuffre reached an out-of-court settlement, which didn't represent an admission of guilt by Andrew.
The royal and military patronages were not returned to the Duke after the settlement was completed.
The Duke's appointment as Royal Knight is a private one as it was handed to him by the Queen as the sovereign of the order without consulting ministers.
This means Andrew would attend the Windsor ceremony next month in a private capacity.
It isn't yet known whether the Queen will attend Garter Day and, given her episodic mobility issues, it is likely the Palace would only confirm her attendance last minute.
Prince Andrew's last public appearance took place on the day of the service of thanksgiving for his late father.
The Duke won't step on the Buckingham Palace balcony on June 2, the first day of celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, as the monarch has decided only working royals will join her.