Prince Andrew will return to royal duties on Monday after holding talks with the Queen, it has been claimed.
The Duke of York, 62, will appear alongside senior members of the royal family at the Garter Day service at Windsor Castle, Berkshire.
Andrew recently paid a multimillion-pound settlement to Virginia Giuffre to keep her allegations of s*xual abuse, which he denies, out of court. He has always denied wrongdoing and the settlement included no admission of guilt.
But in relation to Andrew’s scheduled appearance at Garter Day, a senior royal source told the Sunday Times the duke intends to “slowly rebuild his life” following the controversies.
The source told Sunday Times : “Clearly at some point soon, thought will have to be given to how to support the duke as, away from the public gaze, he seeks to slowly rebuild his life in a different direction. There is of course a real awareness and sensitivity to public feelings.
“There is also recognition that the task of starting to support him as he begins to rebuild his life will be the first step on a long road and one that should not be played out every day in the glare of the public spotlight.”
Prince Andrew missed the Platinum Jubilee celebrations as he tested positive for Covid.
Since then, it is understood that the dad of two has had behind-the-scenes meetings with the Queen regarding his future.
But the Garter Day service, famous for its pageantry and royal knights and ladies in plumed hats and velvet robes, is an important annual procession.
So it’s said that Andrew will be present at the high-profile event, despite stepping down from royal duties and being stripped of his military titles late last year.
A palace source, though, he had said: “The duke is delusional if he thinks what happened (at Westminster Abbey at Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service in March) means he has any chance of resuming a public role.”
Andrew had accompanied the Queen to Westminster Abbey and escorted the monarch to her seat at the memorial service.
Andrew denies allegations against him and the settlement with Ms Giuffre, 38, is not an admission of guilt.