The Duke of York plans to attend his father the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service, in what will be his first public appearance since settling a civil sex claim in the US.
Prince Andrew, 62, will be at the Westminster Abbey event on March 29, according to reports.
His planned attendance was revealed by the BBC on Monday.
It will be the Queen’s second son’s his first public appearance since the out-of-court agreement – revealed in court documents in mid-February – was made with his accuser Virginia Giuffre.
Large numbers of the royal family, including the Queen, are expected to attend next week’s service. Also in attendance will be Prince Philip’s friends, colleagues and representatives of organisations he supported.
It was confirmed earlier this month that the Duke of Sussex will miss the memorial service. A representative of US-based Prince Harry said he would not return for the high-profile occasion but adding he hoped to visit his grandmother, the Queen, soon.
Andrew stepped down from royal duties in November 2019. He attended Philip’s funeral in April 2021.
In January, the Queen stripped her second son of his prestigious honorary military titles and royal patronages, and he stopped using his HRH style, in a move that effectively cast him adrift from the institution.
But it had been thought any decision around Andrew’s attendance would depend on whether the Queen considered the thanksgiving church service a family event or an official engagement, and how much she and royal aides would be concerned that Andrew’s presence could detract from the proceedings.
Last month, a letter submitted to the US District Court said the prince “regrets his association” with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, and had agreed to make a “substantial donation” to Australia-based Ms Giuffre’s charity, after the pair agreed an undisclosed out-of-court settlement in her civil sex claim against him.
-AAP
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