Prince Andrew backed out of Christmas with the rest of the Royal Family this year amid his recent "Chinese spy" scandal (reportedly after a fair amount of convincing from ex-wife Sarah Ferguson). But before he made the decision to stay home at Royal Lodge, it seems the Duke of York was set to share living quarters with his brother and sister-in-law—and no one was thrilled about the situation.
According to the Sun, Prince Edward and his wife, Sophie (a.k.a. the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh) were “less than pleased” when they found out they'd be staying under the same roof as Prince Andrew and Fergie.
A royal insider told the outlet that the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh weren't thrilled about staying “cheek by jowl with the Yorks” at Wood Farm, the Sandringham cottage where Prince Philip lived during his retirement. The source continued that the Edinburghs were reportedly "relieved" when the Duchess of York "encouraged and cajoled" Prince Andrew to pull out of the festivities.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh (back row) are said to have been displeased with this year's sleeping arrangements at Sandringham.
According to multiple outlets, Fergie was instrumental in getting her ex-husband to see why it wouldn't be appropriate to join the Royal Family for the holidays after his ties to suspected Chinese spy Yang Tengbo were discovered this month.
King Charles and Queen Camilla, with whom Ferguson is close, are said to have counted on the Duchess of York to "literally save Christmas," as Rebecca English said on the Daily Mail's Palace Confidential program.
The royal editor continued that the royals "very much appreciate and are grateful for [Ferguson] saying to Andrew, 'Look why don't we just take a step back this year and see where the future lies.'"
As for the rest of the celebrations, it's going to be a packed house at Sandringham, with more than 45 members of the family gathering to enjoy the royals' rather unique Christmas traditions. And while Prince Andrew and Ferguson won't be in attendance, their eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, is a last-minute addition to the guest list after her pregnancy forced her to cancel plans to visit her in-laws in Italy.
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