Duke of York to step back from Trooping the Colour

THE Duke of York will not perform his honorary military role at the Queen’s Birthday Parade, it has emerged.

The Duke, who holds the honorary title of Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, will be replaced by Maj Gen Roland “Roly” Walker, the unit’s former commanding officer.

The Duke had been expected to attend as part of his return to public life after stepping back from royal duties because of his friendship with the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The parade on June 12, to mark the Queen’s 95th birthday, is officially a present from the Household Division to the monarch. He attended the Queen’s Birthday Parade, Trooping the Colour in his honorary role in 2018 and 2019.

Buckingham Palace did not have to address the issue last year as the event was cancelled due to the pandemic.

In November 2019, when the Duke was forced to step back from public duties after his disastrous Newsnight interview, Palace aides said he would still be able to attend landmark events such as Trooping the Colour as “a member of the Royal family”. In a statement at the time, the Duke said “the circumstances relating to my former association with Jeffrey Epstein have become a major disruption to my family’s work”.

Since the controversy, he has severed links to many charities and patronages. It is unclear what, if any, future honorary role he will have in the military, especially in light of the removal of the Duke of Sussex’s military appointments after it was confirmed he was no longer a working member of the Royal family.

Senior military officials have called for Prince Andrew to be “faded out” from his honorary appointments, saying he has become an embarrassment to the Armed Forces. Royal sources have described the Duke as a “busted flush” whose presence was “toxic”.

A senior royal aide told The Sunday Times: “While the hurdles around the Epstein case are still hanging over him, it will be difficult for him to represent the family again in any capacity as his presence would overshadow the work of the monarchy. The Duke is focusing on doing what needs to be done to cause less distraction and that is still ongoing.”

The Palace did not respond to inquiries by