Prince Andrew joins Princess Kate, William and Charles for first summer holiday break at Balmoral since Queen’s death
PRINCE Andrew appears to have been welcomed back into the Royal fold as he was today pictured driving to church with Princess Kate and William on the family’s first summer holiday in Balmoral since the Queen’s death.
The disgraced Duke of York, 63, was seen in the front seat beside his nephew Prince William while the Princess of Wales sat behind him.
He has been invited to spend time at the 50,000-acre Balmoral royal estate and was today seen attending church alongside his family.
The welcome was one of three telltale signs suggested Andrew is being reintegrated to the royal family after the scandal of his friendship with the late US paedophile tycoon Jeffrey Epstein.
One was the invitation itself, his first trip to the Scottish estate since his mother’s death in September last year.
It has been described as an “olive branch” from his brother Charles.
He also travelled to Crathie Kirk this morning in the same car as William, who was driving, and Kate.
The couple have emerged as senior figures in Charles’s slimmed-down royal family operation.
And while she was not seen, his ex-wife the Duchess of York has been staying at Balmoral too – suggesting approval from above, in contrast to disapproval of her from the Queen‘s late husband Prince Philip.
The duchess recently revealed she was recovering from a breast cancer operation.
Also attending the church today was Lady Susan Hussey, a lady-in-waiting to the late Queen, nine months after she resigned from royal duties amid a racism row.
King Charles and Queen Camilla were chauffeured there in a Bentley.
Prince William drove a Land Rover Defender, with Andrew in the front seat and the Princess of Wales sitting behind him.
But Andrew and Kate swapped seats for the return journey.
The Duke of Edinburgh was also there, driving a Land Rover Discovery with Admiral Tim Lawrence in the front and the Duchess of Edinburgh and Princess Anne in the back.
The soldiers from the Royal Regiment of Scotland provided a guard of honour.
The Sun revealed last week how Andrew has begun a bid to regain his £3million-a-year taxpayer-funded armed security detail.
The duke had been stripped of police protection after paying millions to settle a civil sex assault case launched by Virginia Giuffre.
Andrew found himself embroiled in sex allegations over his links with Epstein but has always strenuously denied any wrongdoing.