Featured Image Credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
Topics: Royal Family, Kate Middleton, UK News, Christmas
Rhianna Benson
Topics: Royal Family, Kate Middleton, UK News, Christmas
For anyone planning on sitting down to watch the Princess of Wales' annual carol service this Christmas Eve, you might notice that one regular attendee was left off the 2024 guest list.
Despite having once been considered an esteemed member of the monarchy, the recent scandal surrounding the royal in question reportedly meant that they evaded one of Kate's highly sought-after invites altogether.
While it may appear like a live ITV broadcast, Christmas Eve's Royal Carols: Together At Christmas service was actually filmed earlier this month.
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On 8 December, the 42-year-old Princess, her husband Prince William, and their three children - Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis - filed into Westminster Abbey for an evening of song and celebration.
The Wales' sat proudly on the front row - directly in front of Lady Rose Gilman and her partner George, whose appearance caused a stir for a different matter entirely.
Though King Charles III and Queen Camilla remained at home - both getting over their recent respective health woes - and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle still residing in the States, countless other members of the institution showed up to the special event.
Among them were Princess Anne's daughter Zara Tindall and her children, as well as Prince Edward's wife - Sophie Wessex, Duchess of Edinburgh - and Princess Beatrice.
According to reports, a further 22 other minor royals were also in attendance.
Someone noticeably missing from the festivities was Prince Andrew, who'd previously been a firm member on the guest list.
According to royal columnist Ephraim Hardcastle, however, Kate knew exactly what she was doing by not inviting him.
Hardcastle claimed that, while King Charles may have extended an invite for Andrew to spend Christmas with him and Camilla in Sandringham this year, the Wales' are apparently keeping their distance.
"William and Kate aren't sharing the love," he penned.
"A mole whispers that for the second year running, suggestions that Andrew be invited to Kate's annual carol service, possibly seated behind a pillar, were rejected."
The royal expert added: "Although very much a family affair... there was no space for Uncle Andy."
Prince Andrew resigned from his official duties in May 2020 amid the investigation into his association with convicted sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein - during which the royal father-of-two was also accused of having sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre when she was a minor.
As a result, Andrew was stripped of his royal and military titles and has since remained somewhat on the sidelines of the royal family.
This exclusion wouldn't be the first time that William and Kate have seemingly attempted to block attempts to put the controversy surrounding Andrew's alleged antics to bed, with Hardcastle claiming the King tried to pull the same move in 2023.
"Last year, the King tried to get W&K to bury the hatchet during a gathering at Balmoral, where he cajoled them into giving Andrew a lift to church so the trio could be photographed together," he claimed.
"The initiative failed."
Andrew also missed out on a family reunion last week amid public backlash for his connection to an alleged Chinese spy.
According to Sky News, Andrew - whose office recently released a statement saying he'd cut ties with the 'spy' in question - failed to attend his brother's annual pre-Christmas lunch on Thursday (19 December), despite his daughters Beatrice and Eugenie turning up.
The Chinese businessman has been named as a risk to British national security, though the statement insists that the pair never discussed anything of a 'sensitive nature'.