00:00 The King overruled Prince William by ordering the family to fall in line in welcoming the
00:04 disgraced Duke of York back into the family fold, it has been claimed.
00:15 The monarch has made it clear to the senior royals that Prince Andrew would not be shut
00:19 out any longer and suggested the Prince of Wales would be the one to drive him to church
00:23 in Scotland last Sunday, sources have revealed.
00:33 His appearance alongside the future King and Queen, while knowing they would all be photographed,
00:37 has been seen as a major boost in the York camp towards the Duke's rehabilitation.
00:49 One Balmoral insider suggested there had been some confusion over how Andrew, 63, would
00:54 be travelling to church until he received a call on Sunday morning prior to going.
01:06 After the public declaration of support from William and Kate, with Andrew riding in the
01:10 car to end from the service in Balmoral where the royals are on holiday, one source said,
01:15 "It's more than he, Andrew, could have wished for."
01:25 Royal sources have deemed the support for Andrew a remarkable turn of events after both
01:29 Charles and William last year both lobbied the late Queen to strip him of his prized
01:33 military titles and charity patronages after he was forced to pay his sex abuse accuser
01:38 £12m.
01:47 The settlement was made without any admission of liability and Prince Andrew has denied
01:51 the allegation.
01:59 The King overruled Prince William by ordering the family to fall in line in welcoming the
02:03 disgraced Duke of York back into the family fold, it has been claimed.
02:14 The monarch has made it clear to the senior royals that Prince Andrew would not be shut
02:18 out any longer and suggested the Prince of Wales would be the one to drive him to church
02:22 in Scotland last Sunday, sources have revealed.
02:32 His appearance alongside the future King and Queen, while knowing they would all be photographed,
02:36 has been seen as a major boost in the York camp towards the Duke's rehabilitation.
02:48 One Balmoral insider suggested there had been some confusion over how Andrew, 63, would
02:53 be travelling to church until he received a call on Sunday morning prior to going.
03:05 After the public declaration of support from William and Kate, with Andrew riding in the
03:09 car to end from the service in Balmoral where the royals are on holiday, one source said,
03:14 "It's more than he, Andrew, could have wished for."
03:24 Royal sources have deemed the support for Andrew a remarkable turn of events after both
03:28 Charles and William last year both lobbied the late Queen to strip him of his prized
03:32 military titles and charity patronages after he was forced to pay his sex abuse accuser
03:37 £12m.
03:46 The settlement was made without any admission of liability and Prince Andrew has denied
03:50 the allegation.
03:58 After making the extraordinary settlement with Virginia Jufri, in order to stop a full
04:02 trial in a US court, William also said he would boycott a major royal event with wife
04:07 Kate last June if his uncle was allowed to take part in the procession.
04:18 The Queen had wished her disgraced son to join in the Garter Day parade at Windsor Castle,
04:23 but was blocked by her heirs who reacted furiously, suggesting there could be a 'backlash' if
04:27 he was seen in public.
04:36 One insider said that while William may have attended private functions with his uncle,
04:40 namely last Christmas at Sandringham aside from the Queen's funeral and King's coronation,
04:45 he had absolutely no desire to be seen with the Duke in public.
04:56 It appears he may have had his wings clipped somewhat, said another source.
05:00 Rachel Maskell, MP for York Central, who raised a bill in Parliament seeking to strip the
05:05 royal of his Duke of York title, said, "Any perceived public rehabilitation, for Prince
05:10 Andrew would be 'unpalatable'".
05:19 She said, "Any public rehabilitation of the Duke of York is certainly not something the
05:23 country as a whole would welcome at all.
05:33 The Duke carried an ambassadorial role across the world and to be represented by someone
05:37 with a questionable past, certainly for the people of the country that I represent, is
05:42 not something we want.
05:50 People have welcomed the slimming down of the monarchy, both in terms of royals and
05:54 vast numbers of staff working for them.
06:03 And with an increased cost of monarchy, up to record figures this year, at a time of
06:07 great hardship for so many millions of people across our country, this is not something
06:12 the country is looking for.
06:20 Any rehabilitation process in terms of a public role for Prince Andrew would be unpalatable,
06:25 especially when the questionable acts that he was accused of involved the possible sexual
06:29 misconduct against vulnerable women.
06:39 We want to make sure the rights of women are upheld and I don't think we can have confidence
06:43 that those would be a priority if Prince Andrew was welcomed back into any public role whatsoever."
06:48 Manu Reid, leader of the Women's Equality Party, said, "Women and everyone who believes
07:00 in standards in public life deserves better than this.
07:10 A lot of what the monarchy does is about symbolism.
07:13 If the monarchy rushes to rehabilitate a member who, whatever else he did or didn't do, brought
07:18 two pedophiles into its inner circles and gave them credibility, it will symbolize contempt
07:23 for the victims of those pedophiles and for the victims of violence and exploitation everywhere."
07:28 Meanwhile, well-placed sources have revealed how the Duke of York's ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson,
07:40 who is staying at Balmoral with the royals, alongside Andrew and their children has been
07:45 the "life and soul" of family gatherings.
07:54 One Balmoral insider said, "[Fergie] had been seen talking to the King and Prince William
07:59 on 'several separate occasions'."
08:08 The recent developments have given rise to the theory that Fergie has been a 'broker',
08:12 of her former husband's brief resurgence among the family.
08:22 Insiders also suggested the Duke would be buoyed by the family show of support after
08:26 being forced to miss public events and stand aside from all royal duties over his friendship
08:31 with the late paedophile financier Geoffrey Epstein.
08:41 The King has had several conversations with his brother and decided, while he will not
08:45 return to public duties as would be the Duke's preference, he should be welcomed back into
08:49 the fold.
08:56 A source said, "The King feels he has an awful lot on his entree and this is one issue he
09:01 wants to draw a line under."
09:10 Neither Buckingham Palace nor Kensington Palace commented
09:13 on the matter.
