Royal Easter in UK without Andrew and Sarah: Epstein links keep former royals out of Windsor celebration

Easter at Windsor Castle looked a lot quieter this year. King Charles led the royal family on Sunday, April 5, for the traditional Easter Mattins service at St. George’s Chapel, but the royal family was missing two familiar faces: former Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson.

Yes, Andrew and Fergie, both 66, are skipping the family church outing this year, just one year after joining the festive gathering. The couple, once fixtures at royal events, have been keeping a low profile amid mounting scandals that have clouded their public image.

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Why this happened

Prince Andrew, once the Duke of York and a prominent figure in royal circles, has been under scrutiny for years due to his links with the late Jeffrey Epstein, the American financier and convicted sex offender.

Andrew stepped back from public duties in 2019 after his infamous BBC interview defending his ties to Epstein. Since then, he occasionally appeared at family events, but those days now seem behind him.

In October 2025, King Charles stripped Andrew of his royal titles after renewed scrutiny over his Epstein connections. This included the posthumous memoir of Virginia Giuffre, who tragically died by suicide at 41 last year.

In her book, Giuffre accused Andrew of believing “having sex with me was his birthright,” claiming Epstein arranged three meetings when she was just 17.

New documents keep the talk alive

The Epstein saga took another dark turn in January when the US Department of Justice released more than three million pages of documents related to Epstein’s criminal investigations.

These files revealed disturbing details about the extent of Andrew and Ferguson’s communications with Epstein, even after Epstein had spent time in prison.

Things got more serious in February when Andrew was arrested on February 19, facing suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Authorities are investigating whether he shared confidential information with Epstein during his time as a UK trade envoy from 2001 to 2011.