The Duke of York, Prince Andrew finds silver lining amid Chinese spy controversy.
Just a few days after pulling himself out of Royal Family's Christmas festivities at Sandringham amid growing pressure of remaining out of public eye, Andrew has received a delightful nod from the Royal Family.
Despite Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson skipping Royal Christmas this year, their elder daughter Princess Beatrice joined King Charles and Queen Camilla for the celebrations.
In a heartfelt gesture from the King Charles himself, Kate Middleton and Prince William, Beatrice was given a special position during their procession towards St. Mary Magdalene Church in Norfolk.
The carefully orchestrated position of Andrew's daughter and her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi as they followed Charles and Camilla's lead, highlighted Beatrice's strong position in the family.
In the exclusive photos of royal walkabout, Beatrice and Mozzi could be seen right behind Kate and William, who were walking just behind the king and Queen.
Explaining Andrew's delight on Beatrice being honoured by the firm, a royal expert Robert Hardman wrote, "Once again, the Dukes of York and Sussex were nowhere to be seen, though Prince Andrew will have been delighted to see the prominence given to his elder daughter, Princess Beatrice, yesterday at Sandringham."
He further added, "She and her husband were next in line to the Waleses on the way out of church, a subtle reminder that she remains in the top 10 in the royal line of succession."
To note, Princess Beatrice had initially cancelled her plan to go to Sandringham for this year's Christmas as she wanted join her in-laws abroad, however, she had to change her decision after taking doctor's advice.
Prince Andrew found himself in yet another controversy as his "close ties" with an alleged Chinese spy, Yang Tengbo came to media's attention after the foreigner was banned in the UK.
