Prince Andrew has skipped the royals' traditional Christmas Day walk to church after what his mother Queen Elizabeth said in her seasonal address had been a "bumpy" year.
Duchess of Cambridge Catherine, Princess Charlotte, Prince William and Prince George arrive for the royal family's traditional Christmas Day service on December 25, 2019. Photo: Ben Stansall / AFP
Andrew has kept a low profile since stepping down from royal duties last month amid outrage over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
He was filmed walking along a path with his brother Prince Charles to St Mary Magdalene church near the Queen's estate in Sandringham for an earlier service.
He did not join other members of the family when they walked to the later service: a staple of the royal calendar.
The queen attended both services, Sky News and other media reported. Dressed in a bright red outfit, she arrived in a car accompanied by her daughter-in-law Camilla for the later service.
Prince William was present with his wife Kate and two of their children: Prince George and Princess Charlotte.
Members of The Royal Family accompanied Her Majesty at the Christmas Church service this morning. pic.twitter.com/JswKB6pHxW
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) December 25, 2019
After the service, the four stopped to talk to crowds near the church. George, 6, and Charlotte, 4, who attended the Christmas Day service for the first time, received gifts from well-wishers.
William's younger brother Prince Harry is spending Christmas in Canada with his wife Meghan and baby Archie
British media reported Andrew made a personal decision to miss the main service and instead stay in the house with his father Prince Philip. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Philip, 98, left a London hospital just in time for Christmas after treatment for what Buckingham Palace described as a pre-existing condition.
Later on, the Queen stressed in her Christmas address the importance of reconciliation after a turbulent year both for the royals and for Britain as it wrestled with divisions over Brexit.
Watch: The Queen's Christmas Broadcast 2019. #QueensSpeech #QueensChristmasBroadcast #HappyChristmas pic.twitter.com/Q16XjeoFZJ
— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) December 25, 2019
"The path, of course, is not always smooth, and may at times this year have felt quite bumpy, but small steps can make a world of difference," she said in the message filmed at Windsor Castle.
This year, as well as Andrew's entanglement in the Epstein furore, the queen's husband received a police warning over a car crash.
Andrew has denied an accusation by a woman who said she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with his friends, including the prince, when she was 17.
Epstein, who had been charged with trafficking dozens of underage girls, committed suicide in jail in August.
-Reuters
