A friend of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has claimed the exiled former prince was invited to spend the summer with the Royal Family at Balmoral but declined over fears he would be treated as an 'outcast'.
Andrew's Reported Rejection
The friend told The Sun: "Andrew feels he's been abandoned. He feels like he is no longer part of the family."
"He was invited but has got no great desire to be at Balmoral as he has nothing to gain and would be treated as an outcast. What's the point, he feels, of going all the way there for a much-needed holiday and being treated as an elephant in the room?"
It is believed that his older brother Charles, who stripped Mr Mountbatten-Windsor of his royal titles and booted him out of his Royal Lodge mansion, has not seen him this year, despite the two only being a mile apart when the monarch stays at Sandringham.
Family Relations and Last Year's Visit
It is thought only Prince Edward has seen him since he was arrested on his 66th birthday and moved to Marsh Farm, following new claims about his association with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. He was last seen publicly with members of the Firm at the funeral of the Duchess of Kent last September. He denies all wrongdoing.
The former prince and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson joined the King at Balmoral last year, but were reportedly kept at an arm's length by the rest of the family, as they were believed to be staying at the seven-bedroom Craigowan Lodge during the 2025 summer break.
Royal Expert's Perspective
Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond previously told the Mirror that it is no surprise that the King invited his younger brother to Scotland for the summer, despite no longer being publicly associated with the Firm in an official sense.
Jennie said: "The summer break at Balmoral is very much a private time for the Royal Family. There's no big walk to church - as at Christmas at Sandringham - there's no Easter service as at Windsor each year, so members of the family can come and go pretty much unnoticed."
She continued: "Charles is not an unkind man, and nothing is ever going to change the fact that Andrew is his brother. Craigowan Lodge is ideal for the whole York family to be together on the Balmoral estate, but not under the same roof as the King and Queen."
Jennie says many of the visits to the Scottish residence are carefully coordinated to ensure there are no awkward encounters, as last year's visit would have been planned to keep Prince William and Andrew away from each other as their relationship remained 'incredibly strained'.
The royal expert added however, that the Royal Family can be 'sometimes quite strange in their dealings with one another', and if Andrew were to attend the Balmoral summer break, Charles and the rest of the family may "just politely get on with enjoying the traditional break they have for so many decades, and avoid the elephant in the room."
