Prince Andrew to be barred from Queen's platinum jubilee celebrations

Prince Andrew will have to miss the platinum jubilee celebrations of his mother Queen Elizabeth II's reign next year due to the scandals surrounding him.

According to a report in The Sun, the Duke of York will be "invisible" from the events that will be organised between June 2 to June 5 next year to celebrate the monarch's 70th year on the throne. Buckingham Palace reportedly fears that the presence of the Duke, against whom a sexual abuse lawsuit in a US court has been scheduled around the same time, will distract from the events celebrating his mother.

A royal source said that it is unlikely that the 61-year-old will appear at any of the Royal events during the four days of national celebration, including the balcony appearance alongside his family at Buckingham Palace. Neither Buckingham Palace nor a spokesperson for the Duke of York confirmed or denied the reports.

Meanwhile, royal expert Nigel Cawthorne told the outlet about the decision, "It is very sensible otherwise the attention would all be on Andrew. It is an embarrassing situation for the Queen especially as she is stumping up for his defence. He just has to keep his head down.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams also expressed similar sentiments, telling MailOnline: "The news that the court case brought by Virginia Roberts Giuffre against Prince Andrew will be heard in the run-up to the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations is grim news for the Palace."

Fitzwilliams added that the clashing of the dates mean that sensational speculations about the Duke would be shadowing the Queen's celebrations in the coming months.

The royal, who quit his public duties in 2019 due to public uproar surrounding his association with Jeffrey Epstein, has been hit by a fresh lawsuit filed by the convicted pedophile's accuser Virginia Giuffre. In her civil case against Andrew, Giuffre claims that he raped and sexually assaulted her when she was just 17.

Andrew has always vehemently denied the allegations and any recollection of meeting Giuffre, with his lawyers describing the claims as "baseless."