As the nation prepares to sit down and break bread with its nearest and, ahem, sometimes not-so-dearest this season of Goodwill, the King faces a particularly perplexing Christmas conundrum.
What the hell to do about his annoying brother, Prince Andrew, whose problems seem to arise like a particularly bad bout of the annual holiday flu?
Because the truth is that the King does not want to go so far as to prohibit Prince Andrew from joining the rest of the Royal Family for the much-loved visit and walk through Sandringham Church.
After all, he is her blood brother: she cannot divorce him, or even prevent him from seeing other members of the family.
His friends suggest that Andrew must know that his presence will put Charles in a very uncomfortable position.
but he is Desperately hoping that the Duke of York will “do the decent thing” and “recuse” himself from joining them at Sandringham to spare the rest of the Royal Family further embarrassment following their latest, potentially highly politically damaging scandal, of having an alleged Chinese spy. as a ‘close confidant’ and trusted business advisor.
As things stand, I’m told, Andrew will join the rest of the family in Norfolk next week for the festive reunion.
He and his ever-expanding family, including his ex-wife, the Duchess of York, and their daughters, Princess Beatrice and Eugenie and their children, were expected to take over Wood Farm, a large property on the royal estate.
They will then join the rest of the 45 participants for a private gathering, according to Germanic tradition, to exchange gifts on Christmas Eve and then for Christmas Day lunch, which involves a very public walk to the church in the morning.
Now, embroiled in another furore of his own making, the duke is being pressured to “have some sense”.
Charles, 76, finds himself in an envious position after what has been an incredibly difficult year for him personally and his family, given his and the Princess of Wales’s cancer diagnosis and his son’s recent bout with pneumonia. wife, Queen Camilla.
This year’s gathering was planned to be one of the largest in recent history – and Camilla’s children were even invited – to acknowledge the challenges of the past 12 months and their hopes for a happier 2025.
Families are complex at the best of times and what group doesn’t have a difficult relationship at the table, especially this time of year?
But friends suggest Andrew, 64, must know his presence will put Her Majesty in a very uncomfortable position.
If he allows him to attend, it will amount to putting his arm on his brother’s shoulders in a very visible way just days after he was embroiled in an explosive espionage scandal.
But ‘banning’ it would be the equivalent of a public excommunication, and with all strings finally cut, who knows what the duke might do next?
I understand that Andrew will still have the opportunity, if he wishes, to see his family at the private pre-Christmas lunch that the King organizes for his extended family (the cousins, nieces and nephews who do not make it to Norfolk). this week.
The location will almost certainly be Windsor Castle, which will have the added benefit of allowing you to come and go without being noticed by cameras.
But after that? Well, sources say, it’s surely about that much-vaunted sense of “honor” Andrew told us all about during his infamous 2019 interview in the wake of the Epstein scandal and politely bowing out of all royal festivities, for this one. year at least.
I suspect his family would certainly appreciate it, and might even earn him some respect.
The same applies to his insistence on staying at Royal Lodge, the enormous 30-room mansion in which he and Sarah still live.
It is absolutely true that he has a “cast iron” lease on the property, as the Duke’s friends like to report. The King and his advisors have no legal right to throw him out.
Andrew with Sarah, Beatrice and her husband Edoardo Mozzi at Sandringham last year
But they are deeply concerned that Andrew’s “stubbornness” in keeping that money has put him in a position of financial danger where he is forced to walk around, cap in hand, just to stay afloat.
As we know, Her Majesty has offered five-bedroom Frogmore Cottage, Harry and Meghan’s former home in Windsor, which has the added benefit of being within the castle’s ‘ring of steel’, meaning Andrew’s safety too. would be covered.
The duke has flatly rejected this attempt to reduce his staff, even in the face of the king’s decision to strip him of both his annual stipend (the financial allowance previously paid to him by the late Queen out of her private fortune which was subsequently assumed by Charles) as well as as all your remaining security.
As I understand it, they would both be reinstated if he decided to accept Frogmore’s offer, the King’s way of ensuring that his brother is not under such “financial duress” and discouraging him from seeking other sources of income. .
But as things stand, Andrew won’t budge and the stalemate continues.
Will the ‘spy’ scandal change things, who knows? But the King clearly hopes so.
Admittedly, Andrew has never taken the route of, say, publishing a tell-all memoir or throwing mud at the family via an Oprah-style interview or a Netflix documentary.
And the current sentiment is that it is unlikely to ever do so.
But if the duke has any hope of rehabilitation, many in royal circles believe he should graciously take his brother’s remaining olive branch over his living arrangements and withdraw from family events entirely.
Starting with a polite refusal of the turkey and stuffing next week.