The King and Queen have arrived at the traditional Easter church service in Windsor’s St George’s Chapel alongside other senior royals, in the first public family outing since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.
Charles and Camilla put on a united front with other members of the royal family including the Prince and Princess of Wales, but not Andrew or his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson.
Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, have made alternative plans and will not attend the service.
Andrew was stripped by the King of both his right to be a prince and his dukedom over his association with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
The King and Queen were also joined by the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence.
He was arrested in February, on his 66th birthday, on suspicion of misconduct in public office after allegations that he shared sensitive information with Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy.
Andrew appeared at the service last year alongside the King, along with Sarah Ferguson.
The royal family began to distance itself from Andrew after his infamous BBC Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis in 2019 about his relationship with Epstein.
He was stripped of his military roles and use of HRH title in January 2022, a month before he settled a legal dispute with one of Epstein’s victims Virginia Giuffre. She has alleged that she was assaulted by Andrew.
On 22 March, Andrew was pictured for the first time since his arrest. The 66-year-old former prince was seen walking his dogs in the grounds around his new home, Marsh Farm, on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.
The former Duke of York was forced to relocate to the King’s estate in Norfolk after public backlash over his rent agreements resulted in him giving up his lease on the Grade II listed mansion Royal Lodge in Windsor. It emerged he had only paid a peppercorn rent for more than 20 years, having first moved into the property in 2003.
On Thursday, the King and Queen attended the Royal Maundy service in Wales.
During the ceremony, the King presented Maundy money to 77 men and 77 women from across Wales and other UK dioceses, in recognition of their outstanding Christian service and contributions to their local communities.
The Royal Maundy service, which commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ, has a tradition of distributing alms.
Workers in high-vis jackets were seen cleaning graffiti reading “Not Our King” on Thursday morning, ahead of the King’s arrival.
