Prince Andrew was reportedly 'blindsided' in a tense meeting with King Charles as his brother told him he must accept he will never return to royal duties.
The disgraced Duke of York is said to have 'always believed there was a way back' to his former role and thought he could ‘still be of value’ to the Royal Family despite his association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew stepped down from royal duties and the Queen stripped him of his military affiliations and patronages in the wake of a sex scandal earlier this year.
He denied the allegations against him and later came to an out of court settlement, reportedly worth £12 million with his accuser Virginia Giuffre. The settlement is not an admission of guilt.
Prince Andrew continues to deny any wrongdoing and has reportedly tried to lobby to resume some of his former duties.
Charles and Andrew held an early-morning meeting at the King's Birkhall estate in Scotland just days before the Queen’s death with the Duke of York's absence from future royal service confirmed.
An insider told the Mail on Sunday : “Andrew was totally blindsided. He is utterly bereft. He always believed there was a way back.”
Another source added: “Naïve as it may sound, he always had hopes of regaining his position as a senior Royal. At the meeting, Charles told him that he can go off and have a good life, a nice life, but that his public life as a royal is at an end.”
The late Queen was one of Andrew’s key supporters within the family and allowed him to make a rare public appearance when he escorted her down the aisle at Prince Phillip’s memorial service.
The decision is said to have caused ‘uneasiness’ amongst senior royals.
Andrew’s new life away from public service will be clear this Sunday when senior and working royals attend the Remembrance Day service at the Cenotaph without him.
The 62-year-old reportedly thought that he could be ‘rehabilitated’ and win back a role in The Firm but has been left ‘very depressed’ after his hopes were crushed.
Andrew has since been comforted by his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and his daughters Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
Reports claiming the princesses held at least one meeting with the King to voice their worries over their father and make a case for his return.
