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King Charles III sent a strong signal to younger brother Prince Andrew that there will be no return for the disgraced royal to his military patronages, as he handed new roles to Queen Camilla and Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, on Thursday.
In one of the first armed forces appointments of his reign, Buckingham Palace announced that Charles has given Queen Camilla the colonelcy of the British Army's Grenadier Guards.
The role was Falklands War veteran Andrew's most cherished army role. He took over the colonelcy from his father, Prince Philip, in 2017. The royal surrendered his military patronages and public duties in January amid a sexual assault lawsuit filed in 2021 by Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre.
The loss of the Grenadier Guards' colonelcy came as a death blow to any hopes of a future return for the prince as a working royal, following a chain of disastrous PR scandals relating to his friendship with convicted sex offender Epstein.
In 2019, Andrew gave what is largely considered to be a car crash interview with the BBC in which he failed to adequately justify his friendship with Epstein, while also attempting to discredit Giuffre and her allegations.
Shortly after the fallout from this interview, the prince announced that he would step down from his public roles to spare the royal family embarrassment. The roles were permanently removed with the consent of Queen Elizabeth II in January, a month before the prince settled Giuffre's lawsuit out of court for an undisclosed sum.
Reports that the royal has wanted to make a public comeback have circulated throughout the year following his appearance on the arm of Queen Elizabeth at the memorial service for Prince Philip in March. His prominent position at the service caused a wave of backlash against both Andrew and the monarch.
Though he avoided attending the Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June owing to a case of COVID, the prince had intended on taking part in the annual garter day ceremonies at Windsor Castle some weeks later.
News that the royal would be involved in the public event again cased controversy and led to a reported intervention from the then-Prince Charles and Prince William, leaving Andrew to attend the private aspects of the day at the Castle and not the public ceremonial procession to St George's Chapel.
The announcement that Charles has now given Andrew's former Grenadier Guards colonelcy to Camilla comes as the king looks ahead to the royal ceremonial events of 2023.
As colonel, members of the royal family act as a formal champion and figurehead of the regiment, also taking part in official ceremonies and events at which the regiment is represented.
The British royal family have long associations with the armed forces, and as king, Charles is now commander-in-chief across the services.
One of the biggest military events of the year is Trooping the Color, which takes place every June and also marks the sovereign's official birthday. Each year, members of the royal family attend the trooping, which is held in Horse Guards Parade and is closed with an air force flypast at Buckingham Palace.
For his first Trooping the Color as monarch, Charles will be joined by two additional new royal colonels announced alongside Camilla on Thursday.
Kate Middleton has taken over as colonel of the Irish Guards from her husband, a role he had held since 2011, and William has been appointed colonel of the Welsh Guards, taking over from his father.
This is Kate's first royal military appointment and she has formed a strong bond with the Irish Guards over the past decade, attending the regiment's annual St Patrick's Day parade each March and presenting traditional shamrocks.
The trooping event will be held on Saturday, June 17, during the busiest time in the royal calendar, following the coronation celebrations on May 6 and preceding Royal Ascot week from June 20 to 24.
Whether Andrew will attend the event in a private capacity with members of the wider royal family remains to be seen.
The public last saw the prince in an official capacity as he marked the death of Queen Elizabeth in September, taking part in mourning events and wearing military uniform—at the request of his brother—for the lying-in-state vigil.
In June, 83 percent of Brits said the royal should have no return to public life and the prince recently lost his taxpayer-funded bodyguards. He lives at his home, Royal Lodge, in the grounds of Windsor Castle with his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson.
When contacted by Newsweek, representatives for Prince Andrew declined to comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more