Prince Andrew is hitting a milestone year as he turns 60 years old on Wednesday, Feb. 19. To celebrate this special day, his family is having a small-scale private dinner at the Royal Lodge in Windsor but the invitations are, reportedly, being turned down.
According to Daily Mail, many of the invited guests are saying that they are unavailable to celebrate Prince Andrew's 60th birthday. His ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, with whom he has remained in good terms all these years, is apparently scrambling to fill up the dining table with "second-tier guests" instead.
The ones guaranteed to be at the party are Prince Andrew's daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, and their respective partners, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank. The York princesses continue to throw support for their father amid the scandal that rocked the royal family.
In November 2019, the Duke of York stepped down from his royal duties after his interview with BBC, to supposedly shed light on his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, drew public anger. Epstein was a convicted sex offender who took his own life in prison as he awaited trial on his other cases in the United States.
One of Epstein's accusers, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, claimed that she was recruited into Espstein's sex ring as an underage. She recalled having had sexual relations with Prince Andrew at 17 years old but the royal denied having ever met the victim.
Meanwhile, Prince Andrew's 60th birthday celebration is a stark contrast to his 50th birthday party, which had much fanfare. Queen Elizabeth threw a party for her son at Buckingham Palace, which was followed by a private weekend-long festivity at St. James Palace with several VIPs.
Following the backlash over his interview, Queen Elizabeth decided to scrap the Duke of York's 60th birthday party in Buckingham this year. The Queen, instead, will be busy with a series of royal engagements on Feb. 19, as will Princess Anne, the duke's older sister.
The public believes that it will be inappropriate to celebrate Prince Andrew's milestone given his recent scandal. Some government buildings, which usually fly the Union Jack for royal birthdays, will not be putting up the flag for Prince Andrew, per the Evening Standard.
Despite this, the bells at Westminster Abbey will be ringing for Prince Andrew at 1:00 p.m. London time on Feb. 19. A spokesperson said that Westminster Abbey, as a Royal Peculiar that abides by the Sovereign, will ring the bell for the Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and their children on their birthdays.
