The ‘family diplomacy’ that will keep Prince Andrew away from palace Christmas lunch
The Duke of York will not attend the Royal family’s Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace on Thursday because of “deft family diplomacy” by the Duchess of York, the Telegraph understands.
Prince Andrew has pulled out of the annual private event, a highlight in the royal calendar, after becoming embroiled in a scandal over an alleged Chinese spy.
The decision was made in close consultation with his former wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, who intervened to persuade her husband that the family’s pre-Christmas lunch was not be the right occasion for him to step back into the spotlight.
The King is understood to be “very grateful” for her intervention.
However, palace aides had been kept in the dark as the couple thrashed it out behind the scenes, seemingly unaware as early as Wednesday morning about what they might decide to do.
The furore surrounding the Duke’s close links to Yang Tengbo prompted palace sources to urge him to “do the decent thing” and step back from high-profile family events so as not to further embarrass the King.
The Duke has also decided not to join his family for Christmas at Sandringham in Norfolk, a decision that will have come as a relief to Buckingham Palace aides.
It means he will not be photographed alongside family members as they take their traditional walk to church on Christmas morning.
The intervention suggests that the Duchess has become a valuable ally for the King as one of the few who can influence her former husband.
It is also a further example of how the tide has turned for a woman who was once very much an outsider herself.
Since his accession, the King has made a point of bringing the Duchess in from the cold, inviting her to the last two family Christmases at Sandringham for the first time in three decades and even allowing her to join the high profile walk to church last year.
His gratitude will come as a welcome mark of appreciation for the Duchess, who has remained intensely loyal to the Royal family, despite separating from Prince Andrew in 1992.
Revelations about the royal’s relationship with Mr Yang have heaped renewed pressure on the beleaguered Duke.
It emerged on Dec 12 that the alleged spy, described as a “close confidant” of the Duke in court documents, had been banned from the UK on national security grounds.
When an anonymity order was lifted on Monday, it was revealed that Mr Yang was a founding partner of the Duke’s Pitch@Palace initiative in China and invited to multiple meetings and events alongside the royal, who is feared to have been targeted and courted over a number of years.
The Royal family’s annual Christmas lunch offers a chance for the monarch to celebrate with the extended family, many of whom are not invited to Sandringham over the festive period.
While it is a private event, guests are often photographed entering the palace gates.
Concern over appearance of King’s support
Royal aides were concerned that had the Duke attended, it might have appeared as if he had the King’s support, causing further negative headlines.
While they recognise that the furore may not be of the Duke’s making, it is the optics that have caused significant reputational problems.
Prince Andrew and the Duchess of York are likely to spend Christmas at Royal Lodge, the home they still share in Windsor.
It had already been decided that their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie would not go to Sandringham this year.
Since his accession in 2022, Charles has allowed Andrew to join the family on the traditional stroll from Sandringham House to St Mary Magdalene church on Christmas Day.
However, the Duke was banned from taking part in 2019, just weeks after his disastrous Newsnight interview prompted him to step back from public duties.
