Behind Palace Walls: Andrew is officially heading to court – and the Palace will be holding its breath

For years, Buckingham Palace has tried to make one thing abundantly clear: Andrew is no longer part of the story.

No public duties. No military titles. No HRH in any official capacity. with The King removing that honour by Letters Patent in 2025. No place on the Buckingham Palace balcony. Even the title of Prince is now gone, swept away by the same document signed by Charles III in November last year.

Yet, somehow, the former Duke of York keeps finding his way back into the headlines.

This time, it is not because of another interview or another photograph.

Instead, Andrew is expected to give evidence via video link in December after a man allegedly threatened him while he was walking his dogs near Sandringham.

Let’s be clear.

Andrew is the alleged victim here.

If someone threatened him, the criminal justice system should deal with that fairly and impartially – without fear or favour – exactly as it would for anyone else.

But behind Palace walls, there will almost certainly be an acceptance that this is another story the institution could have done without.

For the Royal Household, Andrew presents a unique communications dilemma.

Every court hearing, every legal document, every television report inevitably revisits the same history—his association with Jeffrey Epstein, the disastrous Newsnight interview, the settlement of the Virginia Giuffre civil claim and his removal from public royal life.

None of those issues is before the court in December.

Yet all of them will feature in the coverage.

That is the reality of Andrew’s public reputation.

The Palace’s strategy for several years has been remarkably consistent – say little, do less.

Keep Andrew as far away from official royal business as possible.

It is a strategy born not from cruelty but necessity.

King Charles has spent much of his reign trying to present a modern, focused monarchy built around a small number of working royals. Every renewed focus on Andrew risks distracting from that objective.

The irony is that Andrew’s appearance as a witness is not something Buckingham Palace can prevent.

He is, in this case, simply a witness in criminal proceedings.

No amount of careful communications planning can stop that.

What Palace officials can do is what they have become increasingly adept at: ensuring the institution itself stays out of the story.

Expect no statements. Expect no commentary. Expect complete silence.

Whether that silence succeeds is another matter entirely.

Because with Andrew, the Palace has learned one difficult lesson above all others.

Even when he is not the one on trial, the monarchy often finds itself in the dock of public opinion.