King Charles attended the Easter Mattins service on Sunday, April 5, at St. George’s Chapel inside Windsor Fortress with members of the royal household. Lacking from the gathering, nonetheless, have been Prince Andrew and his former spouse Sarah Ferguson. Their absence shortly grew to become some of the talked-about particulars of the day as strain surrounding Andrew has intensified in latest months.
They have been there final yr, however not this time
Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson joined the royal household for Easter final yr and have been seen alongside different senior figures through the vacation service. This yr, each remained away from the occasion. Their choice to remain out of the highlight got here as scrutiny round Andrew has continued to deepen.
Stress round Andrew has grown once more
Andrew stepped again from public duties in 2019 after his BBC interview about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein sparked widespread backlash. Even after that, he continued to look at some household events, together with church outings and funerals.
That modified additional in October 2025, when King Charles eliminated Andrew’s royal titles as renewed consideration targeted on his hyperlinks to Epstein.
New claims intensified the disaster
The publication of Virginia Giuffre’s posthumous memoir introduced contemporary consideration to the controversy. On the identical time, the discharge of greater than three million pages linked to the Epstein investigation pushed Andrew’s identify again into the middle of public debate.
The fabric renewed scrutiny over the extent of the hyperlinks between Andrew, Epstein and Ferguson.
The authorized strain stays in focus
Andrew was later reported to have been arrested on February 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public workplace. The investigation is claimed to give attention to claims that he could have shared confidential info with Epstein whereas serving because the UK’s commerce envoy.
That growth added to the rising strain already surrounding him.
Beatrice and Eugenie additionally made different plans
Andrew and Ferguson’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, additionally didn’t be part of the royal household for Easter this yr. They’re understood to have made different plans for the vacation with the information of King Charles.
The 2 sisters had attended the household’s Christmas gathering in December with out their dad and mom, and they’re nonetheless anticipated to look at future household events.
Royal Ascot declare provides to consideration
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are additionally anticipated to overlook Royal Ascot this yr. That declare added one other layer to hypothesis about how deeply the present controversy is affecting the broader York household circle.
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