Prince Andrew has pulled out of tomorrow’s pre-Christmas lunch (Image: Getty)
has withdrawn from tomorrow’s pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, just days after it was confirmed he would .
It comes after the Duke of York, 64, has been embroiled in yet another royal scandal over his.
Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson had been due to join over 70 members of the Royal Family for a festive get-together at Buckingham Palace tomorrow. But the has revealed he has decided not to attend.
The annual gathering gives King Charles a chance to wish the extended family a Merry Christmas before he heads to Sandringham for the rest of the festive period.
The Duke had been keen to attend the private family gathering, but pressure mounted on him to pull out to avoid any further embarrassment for his brother.
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Andrew will now spend the festivities frozen out from the family festivities. His loyal ex-wife will keep him company at their home on the Windsor Estate while the rest of the Royal Family celebrate Christmas at Sandringham.
Their two daughters, and , had already planned to spend Christmas at their respective in-laws for the first time this year.
On Monday, the High Court named the alleged Chinese spy as Yang Tengbo, who is said to have been a “close” confidant of Andrew.
Mr Yang insisted it was “entirely untrue” to claim he was involved in espionage and that he has “done nothing wrong or unlawful”.
The businessman, previously referred to only as H6 in the legal case, was the founder-partner of the Chinese arm of the duke’s PitchPalace initiative and twice visited Buckingham Palace in 2018 to meet with the late Queen’s second son.
He is also said to have entered St James’s Palace and Windsor Castle at Andrew’s invitation.
On Friday, the duke’s office said Andrew “ceased all contact” with the then-unnamed businessman when concerns were first raised about him.