Prince William made no response when he was asked whether he backed his uncle who is facing a civil trial accusing him of having sex with a trafficking victim, aged 17 at the time.
Second-in-line to the throne the Duke of Cambridge was leaving the Foundling Museum in London with Kate when a member of a TV news crew asked: “Do you support Prince Andrew?”
The Duke leaned closer to hear but then walked past without commenting.
Prince Andrew stopped using his HRH style and was stripped of his prestigious honorary military roles by the Queen less than a week ago.
Prince William and Prince Charles were involved in the crisis talks to decide the Duke of York's future, ahead of Prince Andrew being summoned to Windsor Castle to learn of his fate last Wednesday.
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The Duke of York is facing a civil sexual assault case in the US but denies all allegations.
The monarchy has sought to distance itself from the Queen's second son, who is ninth-in-line to the throne, as the institution gears up for the Queen’s historic Platinum Jubilee this year.
On Friday, Prince Charles refused to answer questions about the Duke of York’s position while meeting people involved in the clear-up operation after Storm Arwen in the northeast of Scotland.
Virginia Giuffre is suing Andrew for allegedly sexually assaulting her when she was a teenager.
She claims she was trafficked by the Duke’s friend, convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, to have sex with Andrew three times when she was 17 and a minor under US law.
The Cambridges undertook their first royal outing of the year to hear of the challenges of those who turned their lives around after growing up in chaotic homes.
Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, who last year set up her Centre for Early Childhood, and William spoke with charity bosses at the Foundling Museum who discussed homelessness, mental health impact and helping young people in care who fail or slip through the cracks.
The museum tells the history of the Foundling Hospital, the UK's first children's charity founded in 1739, as a home for children whose mothers couldn't keep or care for them.
The Mirror understands William has been “incandescent” at how his uncle has behaved throughout the legal saga.
