Prince Andrew wore Coronation garter robes despite being left off official outfit plans
Prince Andrew arrived at the King’s Coronation dressed in full robes of the Order of the Garter despite being left off an official list of royals wearing ceremonial outfits for the event.
The Duke of York played no formal role in the ceremony, having stepped down as a working Royal in 2019 following allegations of sexual assault brought against him by Virginia Guiffre.
In the weeks before the Coronation, it had been reported that as non-working royals, Prince Andrew and Prince Harry had been asked not to wear ceremonial robes to the Coronation.
The Duke of Sussex wore a morning suit for the occasion, despite being entitled to wear a blue Mantle having been made a Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (KCVO) by the late Queen in 2015.
Buckingham Palace this morning circulated a list of nine senior royals who would be wearing Mantles – including Prince Andrew’s siblings Princess Anne and Prince Edward – with the Duke of York not mentioned in the release.
However, the Duke, who was booed by crowds as he was driven down The Mall ahead of the Coronation, arrived at Westminster Abbey wearing his navy Mantle of the Order of the Garter.
It marks a public change in tack since last June, when Prince Andrew was banned from appearing alongside senior members of the Royal family at the Order of the Garter ceremony.
Buckingham Palace has not responded to i‘s requests for comment as to why the Duke of York was able to wear the robes or why he was not included in the original list.
Royal experts have suggested the decision to allow him to wear the robe could mark a softening in King Charles’ approach to dealing with his disgraced younger brother.
The late Queen stripped Prince Andrew of his military titles and his royal patronage after he agreed a seven-figure settlement of a civil sexual assault case brought against him by Ms Guiffre in the US last year.
The coronation is a “collar day”, meaning that members are allowed to wear regalia and collars signifying their order. Andrew is a member of The Order of the Garter, which is the oldest and one of the most senior orders of knighthood founded by Edward III in the 14th century.
A source told The Mirror last month that Buckingham Palace would not allow the Duke of York to wearing his garter robes and that the prince was “furious” about being left “completely in the dark” over his role at the ceremony and his dress code.
