King Charles offers ‘olive branch’ to Prince Andrew as Duke of York is invited to Balmoral

King Charles has reportedly offered an ‘olive branch’ to his brother Prince Andrew by inviting him and the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, to Balmoral. According to royal sources, the relationship between the two brothers has improved in recent months, with Andrew becoming the first family member to join the King at the Highlands castle.

Charles was reportedly joined by the Duke and his ex-wife Sarah, the Duchess of York, who is recovering from a breast cancer operation, over the weekend. A royal insider told the Express: “The King and Andrew are now on much better terms and making him the first member of the family to join him is an olive branch.”

The peace offering came as Prince Andrew appeared to have won his battle to remain in the seven-bedroom Royal Lodge in Windsor. Previously, The King had been attempting to persuade Andrew to move into the vacant Frogmore Cottage, the former home of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Charles wanted Andrew to leave the 30-room mansion, where he lives with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, to make room for Prince William, Kate Middleton and their three children. However, the King does not have the power to force out Andrew from the Royal Lodge, with insiders claiming the plan to move the Duke out has now been shelved.

Prince Andrew stepped down from royal duties in 2019 over his association with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. He was also stripped of his HRH style, military titles and patronages after he was sued by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre for sexual abuse when she was underage. Andrew denied Giuffre’s claims, eventually reaching an out-of-court settlement in February 2022.

A US lawyer recently claimed Prince Andrew was ‘saved by royal blood’ over an FBI investigation as they feared it would cause a political row with the UK. Lisa Bloom, who represents five Epstein victims, said: “The FBI clearly decided it was not going to go after Prince Andrew.

“That is a decision that had to be made at the highest level. We are talking about Prince Andrew – was this a diplomatic issue? We didn’t want to strain relations with the UK? Maybe?

“I do believe if this were somebody who was not a Royal the investigation would’ve gone forward. They would’ve spoken to witnesses, and if they had enough evidence, they would’ve extradited him to the US to face justice.”