“There’s increasingly space for a new member of the royal family to come forward.”
Getty Kate Middleton, Prince George, and Prince William
The Gist
- Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is set to move from Windsor to Sandringham imminently—his banishment from royal life complete.
- Though Andrew hasn’t been a working royal for six years, another member of the royal family is stepping forward and taking on more and more duties.
- Prince George, 12, hit a major milestone this month, accompanying his mother the Princess of Wales to a high-profile event marking Remembrance.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor—formerly Prince Andrew—hasn’t been a working royal for six years, but within the last month has been effectively “banished” from every aspect of royal life, as The Daily Mail’s Richard Eden put it.
Andrew surrendered his prestigious Duke of York title on October 17, and on October 30, his older brother King Charles stripped him of all royal titles and privileges, rendering him a commoner and no longer able to identify as a prince. He will now be referred to as the aforementioned Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and will relocate from his 30-room mansion Royal Lodge on the Windsor estate to a home on the Sandringham estate.
Getty Images Prince Andrew at the funeral of Katharine, Duchess of Kent in 2025.
As Andrew fully departs from royal view, Prince George, 12, is emerging into clearer focus. The future king had a big moment on November 8, when he accompanied his mother Kate Middleton to the Festival of Remembrance at Royal Albert Hall. It marked George’s first appearance at Remembrance events and proved he was a worthy stand-in for his father, Prince William, who was traveling back from a five-day trip to Brazil and, as such, not able to be there.
“He was more than happy to leave Catherine and George to take control,” Eden wrote. “My suspicion is we’re going to be seeing George at a lot more of these types of events. He acquitted himself very well, and Catherine’s clearly giving him confidence.”
Getty Prince George and Kate Middleton at Royal Albert Hall
As Eden remarked, with Andrew now completely out of the picture and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle an ocean away in California, “there’s increasingly space for a new member of the royal family to come forward.”
At the Festival of Remembrance earlier this month, “we saw his mother, Catherine, gently leading the way and really showing how Prince George could handle public engagements in the future.” He added, “It’s an event of Remembrance, and it’s one that’s very close to the hearts of the royal family—and also one which Prince George is very interested in.”
Getty Kate Middleton and Prince George at the Festival of Remembrance on November 8, 2025
To that point, George undertook another meaningful royal engagement back in May, where he joined his parents for a tea party at Buckingham Palace honoring veterans of World War II. His younger siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis were not in attendance for that event.
“At that time, it was fascinating how engaged he was,” Eden wrote. “Even though he’s very young, he managed to have conversations with these veterans, and you could see he was taking a real interest.”
“What we’re seeing is Prince William and Catherine carefully introducing George into royal life,” Eden continued, adding that William “clearly has confidence in his eldest son.”
Getty Kate Middleton and Prince George on November 8, 2025
As a palace source previously told People, George’s introduction into more and more royal engagements is “a slow game, and it gets him used to it on the couple’s terms rather than anybody else’s.”
Getty Prince William and Prince George on May 5, 2025
Royal biographer Robert Hardman told the outlet that “William takes his role as father of the future king as seriously as he takes his role as future king. That’s key. His overarching priority is making sure they enjoy it rather than fear it.”
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