Prince William‘s embarrassment at standing next to Prince Andrew may have led to the future King covertly warning his uncle to stop laughing outside the Duchess of Kent’s funeral, it was claimed today.
The Prince of Wales covered his mouth and appeared to say something out of the corner of his mouth to the Duke of York who abruptly stopped grinning at his nephew shortly after the coffin was carried into the state hearse.
It came amid claims Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson have already been told they are not welcome at the Royal Family‘s Christmas celebrations – and must make themselves ‘invisible’ at future royal gatherings – amid a fresh scandal involving paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
It’s understood King Charles, 76, wants to keep the Duke and Duchess of York, both 65, at arm’s length after the Mail on Sunday exposed how Fergie wrote to Epstein to apologise for publicly disowning the vile billionaire, calling him her ‘supreme friend’.
In video from outside Westminster Cathedral, Prince William appeared to be warning Andrew his laughter at such a solemn occasion was ‘not a good look’, a source has claimed, adding he hid his lips to avoid anyone but Andrew knowing what he said.
In the extraordinary exchange, William looks deeply uncomfortable and appears to shut down any chat with Andrew, who licks his lips and looks awkward.
A royal insider told the Daily Mail: ‘William is deliberately speaking behind his hand so you can’t see what he is saying. William was clearly aware that the cameras were on them and felt uncomfortable’.
The source added: ‘He [William] is pretty media savvy and would have known it might not be a good look [by Andrew] and also did not want to be seen chatting to his uncle‘.
A royal source told the Daily Mail last week that William views the Duke and Duchess of York as a ‘pair of chancers’ and is urging his father to cut them both loose because of the Epstein scandal. But the King is less keen because he values their loyalty.
The Prince of Wales covered his mouth and appeared to say something to Andrew, which stopped him laughing
Spot the difference: Moments earlier Andrew was smiling but William looked serious and appeared aware of the optics
Prince Andrew was seen grinning after the funeral of Katharine, Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral in London
The Duke of York appeared to be visibly shunned by the Royal Family as they gathered on the steps of Westminster Cathedral after the Requiem Mass service on Tuesday, September 16.
Andrew could be seen trying to jovially engage with his nephew in conversation.
He appears to reminisce with the Prince of Wales about a previous time they spent together, telling him ‘we had a lovely time didn’t we then,’ according to a lip reader.
But William makes no reply, simply glancing at his uncle before studiously looking forward, thin-lipped, rubbing his nose and rocking on his heels.
After a quick smirk and an awkward pause, the Duke attempts to continue the conversation. ‘And spending time with us,’ he adds, to which William does not respond, instead simply nodding his head in silence.
The seemingly icy encounter came amid ongoing revelations linked to the Duke’s relationship with the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein, six years after the scandal saw Andrew stand down from public duties.
Celebrated historian Andrew Lownie’s forensic biography of Andrew, called Entitled, also caused shockwaves within the Royal Family and made headlines around the world.
Some claims had to be removed for legal reasons, which the author said were incendiary enough to bring down the monarchy.
Charles and William are said to have differing views on how to handle Prince Andrew and his ex-wife with the Prince of Wales likely to be ‘urging’ his father to take the chance to cut them loose
The Duke and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who live together at Royal Lodge in Windsor despite divorcing in 1996, have also been told to make themselves ‘invisible’ at future royal gatherings, insiders claim.
It comes after Charles asked the Duchess of York to help convince Andrew to ‘do the decent thing’ and avoid the Royal Family’s Christmas gathering last year after it emerged the Duke had become close with alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo.
The Yorks spent last Christmas together at Royal Lodge instead, but they were not joined by their daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
A source close to the King told The Sunday Times: ‘You can’t sack someone from being your brother.
‘But this year, if the duke and duchess were both to be as honourable [as last year], it would be very much for the best and the family would not be disappointed, not least to avoid the King having to make any more difficult decisions.’
It follows several charities dropping the Duchess in the wake of the Daily Mail’s exposé last week, which laid bare how she cynically lied when she pledged to cut ties with Epstein.
King Charles has banished Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson from the Royal Family ‘s Christmas celebrations, sources have claimed
Just weeks after publicly disowning him, she then wrote him a gushing private message calling him a ‘steadfast, generous and supreme friend’ – and admitting she only distanced herself from him to save her own reputation.
The Duchess ‘humbly apologised’ to the convicted sex offender for letting him down, and said she had been told to speak out if she wanted to save her career as a children’s author.
She sent the grovelling message ‘from the truth of my heart’, less than two months after telling journalists: ‘I will never have anything to do with [Epstein] again.’
The Duchess’s friends say she was ‘devastated for any embarrassment’ caused by the latest scandal and ‘will explain herself to the wider Royal Family in due course’.
Sources close to the King have told The Sunday Times that the monarch would prefer if Andrew and Fergie keep out of sight when appearing at family events by arriving and leaving through discreet entrances where possible.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Charles and William are thought to have spoken about the latest scandal during their ‘father and son’ weekend together in Scotland.
A source said the King is ‘not of the mind to banish someone’, but would hope the Yorks can ‘find a more discreet way of attending these events’.
‘In the Duke of York’s case, he seems to relish the prospect of not being low-key about it,’ they added.
Prince William and his father are said to be at odds over whether to banish them completely.
King Charles doesn’t want to completely disown the Duchess of York and his brother because both are loyal to him and the Crown – unlike Harry and Meghan.
The monarch is facing huge pressure to expunge Fergie over the grovelling messages she sent to her ‘supreme friend’ Jeffrey Epstein.
However, for now, Charles is said to not want to cut all ties to reflect their loyalty, ensure his sister-in-law doesn’t go rogue like the Sussexes and respect the wishes of his late mother the Queen.
But the more hardline Prince of Wales considers his uncle and aunt to be ‘pair of chancers’ and had enough of them long before the Duchess of York’s latest scandal.
‘His face as he stood next to Andrew at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral said it all’, an insider said.
‘William feels even more strongly than the King that Andrew and Fergie are an embarrassment and will be urging his father to act’, the source claimed.
‘The optics of that pair of chancers guffawing away [at events] look terrible’.
Fergie had recently made a return to the royal fold after bouncing back from several embarrassments over the years – including being photographed having her toes sucked by US financial adviser Johnny Bryant as well as being caught in a sting offering access to her ex-husband for an alleged £500,000.
But she was invited to join the Royal Family’s Christmas gatherings in 2022 and 2023, her first invitations for three decades. She also joined the family’s traditional walk from Sandringham house to church alongside Andrew, Beatrice and Eugenie in 2023.
Andrew stepped down as a working royal over the scandal involving his friendship with Epstein in 2019. It followed a disastrous Newsnight interview about his relationship with Epstein and questions over his relationship with Virginia Giuffre who claimed she was sexually assaulted by the Duke three times when she was 17.
Andrew, who always denied the allegations, agreed an out-of-court settlement with Ms Giuffre, believed to be worth around £12million. Ms Giuffre, who claimed she was trafficked by Epstein, took her own life in April aged 41.
New files showing phone message logs, copies of flight logs and manifests for aircraft, as well as copies of financial ledgers belonging to Epstein were released by Congressional Democrats in the US on Friday night, naming Andrew, as well as billionaire Elon Musk, among them.
The Daily Mail revealed last night how Princess Beatrice is said to have ‘lost all hope’ of becoming a working Royal thanks to the deepening scandal engulfing her parents.
Friends of Beatrice, the eldest daughter Andrew and Fergie, say she would have been keen to help ease the burden on Charles and William by carrying out more Royal engagements.
The King is said to have been impressed by her elegance and enthusiasm during recent joint appearances and is keenly aware of the need to boost the number of working Royals as he continues to be treated for an undisclosed form of cancer and the Princess of Wales recovers from her own battle with the disease.
But with his strict stance against half-in-half-out Royals working for the Firm, nothing yet has ever come of their mutual appreciation. Now aides insist nothing ever will.
The Mail on Sunday understands that courtiers have concerns about further damaging revelations that will emerge about the duke’s relationship with the convicted paedophile after reports that the Epstein Files contain a cache of more than 100 emails that ‘could destroy Andrew’.
A source close to her said: ‘Beatrice does want to be a working Royal and she wants to do Royal events to help her uncle because she’d enjoy them and she would be good at the job.
‘Charles apparently appreciates this . . . There had at one stage been a feeling that Bea could have been lined up one day. She’s never put a foot wrong, don’t forget – and she shouldn’t be punished for the sins of her father. But the King’s courtiers are concerned Andrew could try to ‘get in via the back door’ by exerting influence over her.’
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