King Charles offers 'olive branch' to Andrew as he joins royals at Balmoral
King Charles welcomed his shamed brother Prince Andrew back into the royal fold as they attended church near Balmoral Castle.
The disgraced Duke of York, 63, was pictured in a car with nephew Prince William, 41, and the Princess of Wales, also 41. Insiders say Charles, 74, had offered an “olive branch” to younger brother Andrew by inviting him to spend time at the 50,000-acre Scottish estate.
His ex-wife the Duchess of York - who recently revealed she was recovering from breast cancer - has also been staying at Balmoral. It is understood Andrew is being re-integrated back into the family after the scandal of his friendship with the late US paedophile tycoon Jeffrey Epstein.
King Charles has reportedly offered an 'olive branch' to his disgraced brother Prince Andrew (GETTY)It is the first of such a large number of royals at the Scottish estate since Queen Elizabeth died on September 8, last year. The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were also pictured accompanying the Princess Royal, 73, and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, 68. Lady Susan Hussey, 84, who was the late Queen’s lady-in-waiting and was one of her closest confidents, also attended Crathie Kirk church.
Andrew’s re-emergence comes as he bids to win back his £3million-a-year armed police protection. His taxpayer-funded, round-the-clock bodyguards were axed after he was stripped of official duties in the wake of the Epstein sex scandal. But Andrew has the backing of former home secretary Priti Patel, who emailed the King’s principal private secretary, Sir Clive Alderton, suggesting that a review of the duke’s protection “could be something to consider”.
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Dame Priti apologised to the King after her approach was leaked. In January last year, Andrew was told to stop using His Royal Highness, and all military titles and royal patronages were returned to the late Queen.
Prince Andrew at Charles' Coronation in May (PA)
Andrew is reportedly being welcomed back into the royal fold (Steve Parsons/WPA Pool/REX/Shutterstock)Months later, he settled out of court with Virginia Roberts, who accused him of sexual abuse, which he has vehemently denied. Andrew, who lives in the 30-room Royal Lodge on the King’s Windsor estate, will always benefit from the protection that comes with living in proximity to a royal residence.
His appearance yesterday comes just days after the Mirror reported an FBI lawyer’s claims that his royal blood saved him from being probed over his links to paedophile Epstein. Lisa Bloom said she had numerous witnesses who could be interviewed about the Duke of York’s potential connection to the sex offender and alleged criminal acts - yet no action was taken.
Ms Bloom, who represents five Epstein victims and a witness who claims she saw Andrew with his sex accuser Virginia Giuffre when she was a teenager,claims a decision not to “go after” him was “made at the highest level”.
And she was perplexed Andrew’s car crash 2019 interview on Newsnight was not seized upon by the FBI as he made “claims they could probably disprove”. The Duke famously refused to speak with investigators who reportedly applied to the UK government to make him available for interview under oath.
Ms Bloom also spoke about the lawsuit brought against Andrew in 2021 by Giuffre, who accused him of rape and sexual abuse. Andrew vehemently denied her claims and settled out of court for a reported £12million while admitting no liability.
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