Prince Andrew will not join King Charles at Buckingham Palace pre-Christmas lunch
The Duke of York will not make an appearance at the King's pre-Christmas lunch on Thursday, according to reports.
Prince Andrew, 64, will not be among the guests at the festive gathering at Buckingham Palace, which the monarch traditionally hosts for his wider family.
The lunch for 70 family members is usually private, but attendees are usually photographed arriving in their cars at the palace.
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It comes just days after it was confirmed that the Duke and his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, will not join the royals at Sandringham for Christmas amid the Chinese 'spy' scandal.
Andrew hit the headlines once again last week after a High Court hearing revealed alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, who was banned from the UK, was said to have been a "close" confidant of Andrew.
Mr Yang, who was named after an anonymity order was lifted on Monday, has insisted it was "entirely untrue" to claim he was involved in espionage and that he has "done nothing wrong or unlawful".
The businessman, previously referred to only as H6 in the legal case, was the founder-partner of the Chinese arm of the Duke's Pitch@Palace initiative, and twice visited Buckingham Palace in 2018 to meet with the late Queen's second son.
He is also said to have entered St James's Palace and Windsor Castle at Andrew's invitation.
It has been reported the King was briefed by the intelligence services about his brother's links to Mr Yang, who also goes by the name Christopher Yang.
In a statement released last Friday, the Duke's office said Andrew "ceased all contact" with the then-unnamed businessman when concerns were first raised about him.
Andrew met Mr Yang through "official channels" with "nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed".
The disgraced Duke stepped back from public in 2019 after his disastrous BBC Newsnight TV interview, which focused on his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
He later paid millions to settle a civil sexual assault case with Virginia Giuffre in 2022, vehemently denying the allegations against him.
While Andrew no longer carries out royal duties, he has joined the royal family for a number of high-profile events, including the King's coronation, the Easter Sunday service and the walk to church on Christmas Day.
But he and Sarah will spend the festive period at his Windsor abode, Royal Lodge, while their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, will spend the day with their respective in-laws for the first time.
