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Prince Andrew was left ‘in tears’ when Charles, as Prince of Wales, told him he would never return to royal duties, it has been reported.
Despite his close friendships with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and convicted sex offender Ghislaine Maxwell, the Duke of York believes he could ‘still be of value’ as a working member of the Royal Family.
Days before the Queen’s death in September, he had a one-on-one meeting with his older brother about a possible comeback to public life.
Only the two were said to be present for the discussions, described as ’emotional and fraught’, in which the now King quashed his brother’s hopes.
An insider told the Daily Mail Andrew was ‘totally blindsided’ during the meeting held at Charles’ Birkhall estate in Scotland.
‘Andrew was extremely close to the Queen and tried to raise the issue of his return to public life many times with her,’ they added.
‘On some occasions she would say mildly conciliatory things but most of the time she would change the subject immediately to avoid talking about it.
‘Naive as it may sound, he always had hopes of regaining his position as a senior Royal.
Since his fall from grace over his connection to the billionaire and his out-of-court settlement in a civil case brought by Virginia Giuffre, the prince has disappeared from public life.
His absence will again be noticed next week, at the Remembrance Day service at The Cenotaph.
Andrew faced a public hearing over allegations he sexually abused the American woman three times when she was just 17.
He lost his HRH style and military roles earlier this year ahead of paying the ‘undisclosed sum’.
Even before the Epstein controversy, Charles had indicated he wished for a much slimmed down monarchy under his reign.
Like the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, his brother was not believed to be part of that.
Source:Metro