Prince Andrew was spotted going for a horse ride in Windsor this afternoon, his latest appearance in public in recent days, with one royal expert suggesting he may be ‘trying to rehabilitate himself’.
On Saturday, The Duke of York sat next to the Queen at his father’s funeral before leaving in his new £220,000 Bentley, while on April 11 he spoke to television cameras outside the Royal Chapel of All Saints at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, two days after his father’s death.
That appearance, where he paid tribute to the Duke of Edinburgh, was the first time he had directly addressed cameras since his car crash Newsnight interview about his friendship with convicted paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew then sat next to the Queen at his father’s funeral, before making regular trips to visit her afterwards, according to royal sources.
Before the funeral, there were also rumours that the Duke of York pushed to wear a Navy Admiral’s uniform during the service – only for the Queen to eventually rule that male royals had to wear suits.
Today’s ride in Windsor has prompted speculation Andrew is attempting to ‘rehabilitate’ himself after stepping down from royal duties following his BBC disaster.
Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told MailOnline that Andrew would ‘obviously like to be rehabilitated’, but must first answer FBI questions on his links to Epstein.
Andrew’s appearance comes after it was suggested Prince Charles is planning to slim down the monarchy in the wake of his father’s death and Megxit, which saw Prince Harry and Meghan Markle trade in royal life for LA.
Both Charles and Prince William are said to be in agreement that there is no future place for Andrew in the monarchy, according to reports.
Prince Andrew was spotted going for a horse ride in Windsor this morning, his latest appearance in public in recent days
Prince Andrew left Prince Philip’s funeral in a brand new £220,000 racer-green Bentley. The Duke of York, 61, sat in the back of the 200mph Bentley Flying Spur (pictured arriving at the funeral) – which was blue when first delivered in September before being spray-painted
Prince Andrew was the closest member of the royal family to the Queen on Saturday during Prince Philip’s funeral service
Prince Andrew solemnly walked behind his father’s coffin as it was slowly carried to St George’s Chapel in Windsor
The Mirror’s royal editor Russel Myers told ITV’s Lorraine that there is ‘no place for Andrew’ and both Charles and William are ‘completely aligned on that’.
Reacting to the photos of Andrew riding today, Mr Fitzwilliams said: ‘Given the fact that there are now three fewer senior working royals including him, I suspect he has hopes that some engagements might be undertaken by his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie, which they might.
‘Central to any hopes he might have of some form of future rehabilitation is cooperation with the FBI to assist the victims of the deceased paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. He also still faces serious accusations which have received worldwide publicity.
‘His friend Ghislaine Maxwell goes on trial in the summer. It will be something of a cause celebre and if any further embarrassing revelations or accusations were to surface it would make matters worse.
‘As it is, a low profile and cooperation with the FBI remain his only options in the foreseeable future. He would obviously like to be rehabilitated, but the public would not stand for it given the allegations against him and the memory of that bizarre interview with Emily Maitlis.
‘Any event he attended in an official capacity would be dominated by him and his past. He should first cooperate and be seen to cooperate with the FBI and forget about anything else.’
Andrew took centre stage in the days following his father’s death, after paying tribute to Prince Philip outside the Royal Chapel.
He dubbed Philip ‘the grandfather of the nation’ as he revealed how the Queen said the loss of her husband had ‘left a huge void in her life’.
He said: ‘She described it as having left a huge void in her life but we, the family, the ones that are close, are rallying round to make sure that we’re there to support her.’
The duke added of his father: ‘He was a remarkable man. I loved him as a father. He was so calm. He was always someone you could go to. We have lost the grandfather of the nation.’
The public interview about his father’s death was followed by rumours that Andrew was demanding to wear an Admiral’s uniform for the funeral.
Andrew was made an honorary Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy on his 55th birthday in 2015 and was due to be promoted to Admiral on his 60th birthday last year.
However, he offered to defer it until he cleared his name amid the Epstein scandal and returned to public duties.
He is believed to have caused uproar at Buckingham Palace in the days leading up to his father’s funeral after he told the Queen and senior officials that he wished to attend the service as an Admiral.
Prince Philip died peacefully in his sleep at Windsor Castle last Friday, with Prince Andrew revealing the impact of his father’s death on the Queen in a television interview two days later
Addressing the camera, Prince Andrew said the Queen is ‘an incredibly stoic person’, but said Philip’s death had left her grieving and ‘she is feeling it more than anyone’
The Duke of York (second left) talks with Crown Estate staff as he attends the Sunday service at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge, two days after his father’s death
The Queen eventually ruled that all male members of the royal family would attend the service in suits with medals.
On Saturday, Andrew joined his family as they walked behind his father’s coffin as it was slowly carried to St George’s Chapel in Windsor on the back of a custom-built Land Rover hearse.
Inside the chapel, Andrew sat closest to the Queen – with the family still separated by several spaces due to social distancing rules.
He then left the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral in the back of his new £220,000 racing-green Bentley, which he had fitted with personalised number plates.
The Duke of York sat in the back of the 200mph Bentley Flying Spur, which was blue when first delivered in September before being spray-painted.
The luxury motor was pictured driving out of Windsor Castle on the way to nearby Royal Lodge, the home Andrew shares with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, 61.
In the days following Philip’s death, Andrew and his ex-wife have also made ‘regular’ trips to visit and comfort the Queen, it has been claimed.
The Duke’s recent spate of public visits come after he stepped back from public duties following his Newsnight interview.
His withdrawal from public life meant he did not appear in photos of his daughter Princess Beatrice’s wedding to Italian property developer Edo Mapelli Mozzi in July.
In 2019, Andrew said he was willing to help US officials with their Epstein investigations – but was last year accused of providing ‘zero cooperation’.
Virginia Roberts, now a mother of three living in Australia, claims she was trafficked by Epstein to have sex with the duke on three occasions in 2001, including in New York around Easter that year, when she was 17.
Andrew strongly denies all her allegations and says he cannot even recall meeting her, despite the pair being apparently pictured together at Miss Maxwell’s London home on March 10, 2001.
