Prince William ‘threatened ultimatum over Prince Andrew’s return to public spotlight’ after disgraced Duke’s demands

PRINCE William dealt the Queen an ultimatum over Prince Andrew’s return to the spotlight, it is claimed.

The Duke of Cambridge was reportedly so alarmed at the prospect of his uncle’s hopes for a royal comeback he told Her Majesty “it’s him or me”.

Andrew, who is said to believe he is being denied his “birth right” by his return to duties being blocked, was banned from the public elements of yesterday’s Order of the Garter over fears of a “backlash”.

The Sun revealed Charles and William lobbied the monarch, 96, who then made the final decision “for his own good” after tense family talks.

Royal sources yesterday claimed that Wills may have also told his grandmother that if the Duke of York was given a public role at the ceremony at St George’s Chapel, he wouldn’t show up at all.

One senior insider told the : “The Duke of Cambridge was adamant. If York insisted on taking part publicly, he would withdraw.”

Another told : “William hasn’t worked out that with hereditary monarchy you either stand together or hang separately.”

Andrew had hoped to appear publicly at the event alongside other royals, and his name even appeared on the order of service.

But in an eleventh hour decision by Her Majesty, he was barred from the procession – only appearing behind the scenes.

Instead, Charles and Camilla led the way, alongside William and Kate.

The Queen was unable to attend due to her ongoing mobility issues, but still posed for a photo in Windsor Castle’s Garter Throne Room.

Andrew was spotted heading for lunch with the monarch yesterday just hours after being snubbed from the ceremony.

The 62-year-old looked downcast on his way from his Royal Lodge home to the out-of-view meal at the castle.

The duke’s reputation has been severely tarnished by his involvement in a civil sexual assault case.

But he is reportedly plotting a royal comeback, having asked his mum to return his patronages and HRH title just five months after he was stripped of them.

He lost his honours amid the highly-damaging case brought against him by accuser Virginia Giuffre, 38, which led to a multi-million pound pay-out in February.

A source said: “He was confident and bullish he can make a comeback.”

The duke did not join family members in their velvet robes to walk to the ceremony at the chapel, or catch carriages back to the castle.

And his future as a working royal remains up in the air.

ROYAL RETURN

The Queen has previously signalled her support for Andrew – rumoured to be her favourite child – by arriving with him for the Duke of Edinburgh‘s memorial service in March.

Andrew provided a steady arm as she walked into Westminster Abbey to remember the life of her husband, a few weeks after he reached the out-of-court settlement.

But there has been speculation senior royals did not approve of his appearance, and the monarch appears to have conceded.

It follows his departure from public life after the furore over his friendship with paedophile billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.

He later reportedly paid £12million to a woman he claims never to have met to settle the civil sexual assault case.

The duke was cast out of the working monarchy after Ms Giuffre, who was trafficked by Epstein, accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17, which Andrew denies.

He had been due to join the wider royal family at a service of thanksgiving in St Paul’s Cathedral on the second of the four-day Platinum Jubilee celebrations earlier this month.

But ahead of the ceremony, it was announced that he had caught Covid and could therefore no longer attend.