Not so admiral ANDREW’S BIRTHDAY SNUB
THE PRINCE’S 60TH IS SHAPING UP AS A GLUM AFFAIR
It was supposed to be a milestone birthday, with a special promotion to honour the occasion. But Prince Andrew’s tarnished reputation means that celebrations for his 60th birthday this week are all but canned.
And his fall from grace after a disastrous TV interview last year about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein is also jeopardising another important occasion – the wedding of his daughter Princess Beatrice, who won’t be getting a grand, pomp-filled ceremony like her sister did when she marries Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on May 29.
Beatrice’s nuptials will be held in a much smaller venue with fewer guests, and won’t be televised live like Princess Eugenie’s 2018 wedding to
Jack Brooksbank was.
While Eugenie (29) married at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle – just like her cousin Prince Harry and his bride
Meghan Markle – Beatrice is taking her vows at the Chapel Royal at St James’s Palace.
Insiders say the wedding was initially going to be held at The Guards’ Chapel, St James’s Park, but the venue, which is available to people with military links, had to be changed after
Andrew suspended ties with various military associations.
And while some friends say Beatrice (31) prefers to have a low-key wedding, others have pointed out that she doesn’t have much choice in light of Andrew’s behaviour.
The Queen’s second son stepped down from royal duties last November after the BBC interview, in which he failed to explain why he hadn’t cut ties with Epstein, or express much sympathy for the victims of the late US financier.
Shortly afterwards, his mother cancelled a birthday party she was planning to throw for Andrew’s 60th on February 19. Instead, she will host a small family dinner.
Meanwhile, it’s been revealed that, because of Andrew, the British Government changed its policy of flying flags from public buildings to celebrate the birthdays of senior royals.
An email sent to local authorities reminding them to fly the Union Flag for Andrew on his birthday did not go down well with some councils, which said it would be inappropriate. Shortly afterwards, there was an announcement that councils would not be obliged to make the tribute. Buckingham Palace apparently agrees with the change of policy.
In another slight, Andrew won’t be promoted to admiral on his 60th birthday, as was expected. Royals who’ve served in the military continue to receive promotions even once they’ve resigned, and after becoming rear admiral on his 50th birthday and vice admiral on his 55th, he was due to attain the highest rank of admiral this year.
But the palace released a statement saying, “Following the decision by His Royal Highness to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, the Duke of York has asked the Ministry of Defence if this promotion might be deferred until such time that
His Royal Highness returns to public duty.”
This suggests that Andrew anticipates being back in favour after a suitable time-out period, says a royal source.
“One gets the feeling that he expects this ‘stepping back from public duties’ to be a temporary arrangement, until the fuss has died down.”
In the meantime, numerous organisations the prince is associated with have dropped him as a patron or trustee, and Pitch@Palace, a business mentoring network he set up, has removed his name from their website. Several companies that supported the initiative, including accounting
firm KPMG, severed ties after the controversial TV interview.
Although he’s not supposed to be carrying out duties, it’s been revealed that he delivered a message of sympathy from the Queen to Liu Xiaoming, China’s ambassador to Britain, over the coronavirus outbreak. Andrew, his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York (60), Beatrice and Edo (37) were invited to Liu’s residence to celebrate Chinese New Year.
There appears to be no animosity between Beatrice and her dad over the disruption caused to her wedding. She’s said to be very close to Andrew, and he’s expected to walk her down the aisle.
It appears that the Queen
(93) feels bad about the impact of the scandal on the wedding, and she has offered to host the reception at Buckingham Palace to give Beatrice “a morale boost”. This demonstrates the “immense affection” the monarch has for her granddaughter, says a source.
A friend adds, “Bea was delighted and very grateful to accept the Queen’s offer. It was a really special gesture as it will be the first wedding celebration at Buckingham Palace since William and Catherine in 2011.”
There are connections with St James’s Palace that will still make it a meaningful location for Beatrice’s big day. She was christened there in 1988 and it’s where her great-greatgreat-great grandmother Queen Victoria married Prince Albert in 1840.
The scandal surrounding Andrew has continued to intensify since he stepped down. A second woman has claimed she had sex with the prince – he has already denied allegations that he slept with 17-year-old Virginia Roberts in the 1990s.
The US prosecutor leading the investigation into Epstein’s trafficking ring has said the prince has provided “zero cooperation”, despite previously stating he was willing to help law enforcement agencies.