Prince Andrew made a surprising appearance yesterday when he opted to join the Royal Family for the Easter Sunday service in Windsor. The Duke of York’s appearance outside the chapel was the first time he has been seen with senior members of the family, including the King, for some time after he was at the heart of a scandal involving his friendship with a suspected Chinese spy last year.

While Andrew, 65, is no longer in contact with Yang Tengbo - who has denied being a spy - the scandal definitely worsened his already fragile public image. As a result, he did not join the royals for Christmas, making his latest Easter appearance all the more surprising.

While Andrew, who was accompanied by ex wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, looked nervous in front of the cameras, he did make one move that showed the duke making a “forceful reminder”, as explained by a royal expert.

Robert Hardman wrote in The Daily Mail that the Duke stepped behind the King and Queen Camilla in the possession inside the chapel, which he thought was interesting.

He wrote: “As soon as the King and Queen had entered the chapel, the Duke of York then stepped immediately behind them in the procession, almost overtaking the man in charge, the Dean of Windsor, the Rt Rev Christopher Cocksworth.

“Here was a forceful reminder that, in this company at least, the Duke was first in the line of succession.”