Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, will not have a chance to touch base with President Donald Trump. He won't be attending the special dinner hosted by Queen Elizabeth for the leaders of NATO in Buckingham Palace on Dec. 3.
According to reports, Queen Elizabeth apparently "banned" her son from the NATO reception amid the scandal brought about by his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew's name was missing from the guest list, as confirmed by Buckingham Palace.
During President Trump's state visit to London last June, Queen Elizabeth chose Prince Andrew to be Trump's designated royal escort for his three-day visit. Apparently, they both have something in common as golf enthusiasts and they both know each other personally. The royal family described Prince Andrew and Trump's bonding as "golf course diplomacy," which they hoped would bring a fruitful outcome.
Prince Andrew met Trump more than 20 years ago, when he visited Mar-a-Lago in Florida. Both men are also friends with Epstein, however, the palace has been trying to distance Prince Andrew from the sex scandal, especially after his ill-received BBC interview.
In it, Prince Andrew said he doesn't regret his friendship with Epstein because it had "beneficial outcomes." However, he also said he intended to end his friendship with the convicted sex offender in 2010, before the scandal broke. Prince Andrew also said he does not remember meeting the woman who accused him of being intimate with her when she was a minor and was in one of Epstein's parties.
Meanwhile, Yorkshire Air Ambulance is the latest organization to withdraw its connection to Prince Andrew because of the Epstein scandal. A staff told BBC that the decision was made based on consultations with the "staff, volunteer and donor opinion."
Previous to this, Prince Andrew released a statement to say that he is effectively stepping back as patron of every organization supported by the royal family. He admitted that he had become a "major disruption" in the charitable work of royals.
As a patron, these organizations rely on the royals to raise their profile to attract more support for their charities. However, since Prince Andrew's disastrous interview, the companies and organizations that have been linked to the royals have been slowly dropping like flies.
According to Buckingham Palace, Prince Andrew's decision to step back from his royal duties was a personal choice. However, it is believed that he consulted with his mother, Queen Elizabeth, and older brother, Prince Charles, before making things official.
