Prince Andrew may have stepped out earlier this month with the Royal Family at an Easter Sunday service in Windsor, however royal experts believe he will never return to public life. The Duke of York, 65, has been seen in public just a handful of times since 2019 as a result of his previous friendship with the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, which resulted in the duke stepping back from public duty.

He then withdrew from royal life even further in 2021 when he was accused of sexual abuse by Virginia Giuffre, who committed suicide last week. Andrew has always strongly denied such claims. More recently, the Duke was involved in another scandal revolving around Chinese businessman, Yang Tengbo, who was allegedly friends with Andrew.

Tengbo has denied these spy claims, with the Duke having ceased contact with him as soon as concerns were raised.

However, with months having passed since this spy scandal, Andrew did step out with the Royal Family for the first time of the year on Easter Sunday.

The Duke avoided any contact with the press or public, instead standing with his royal relatives, including his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York.

While some may believe his Easter appearance is a hint that he could be welcomed back on the royal stage, experts believe this will never be the case, with Prince William being the main reason for this.

Despite being Andrew’s nephew, William - who did not attend the Easter Sunday service this year - is reportedly reluctant to spend time with Andrew, and will not accept him returning to royal life on a professional basis.

On The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, royal expert Bronte Coy discussed this with Matt Wilkinson. Bronte said: "I can't imagine that the King or Prince William or any of the other senior royals would agree that he should return to public duty. I think that's a matter that's been laid to rest.”

Royal expert Phil Dampier also said that while King Charles, 76, loves his brother, the monarch’s son William is unlikely to allow Andrew to return to the royal fold.

He said: “It is absolutely true to say that William is one of the driving forces behind making sure there’s no future for the Duke of York. He doesn’t believe he can make a comeback, and there is, I’m told, quite a lot of friction between them. It made it a lot easier (on Easter Sunday), I think, for Andrew that William wasn’t there.”

Prince William, Princess Kate and their three children did not attend the Easter Sunday service in Windsor last week as they instead wanted to spend the Easter weekend privately at their Norfolk home.