Last week, when it was revealed that Duke of York had an affair with alleged Chinese spy Yang Tianbo, calls began to grow that Prince Andrew should back out of Christmas with the royals. Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson eventually decided not to go to Sandringham with the rest of the royal family, and it has now been confirmed that they will not attend any other major festivities.

Several media outlets reported Wednesday, December 18, that the Duke of York will not attend the King's annual Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace this week, which will be held on December 19 and will be attended by 70 family members, including many relatives who do not normally come to royal gatherings will attend.

As of Tuesday, there were reports that Lord York was still planning to go to the luncheon, but perhaps thanks to his heart-to-heart with Fergie, he has changed his mind.

According to the Daily Mail, King Charles and Queen Camilla were “quietly hoping that the Duchess of York would come to their rescue and ‘make sense’ to her ex-husband as one of the few people who still had his ear.”

Ingrid Sward, editor of Majesty magazine, told the Mirror that Prince Andrew's recent spy scandal was the nail in the Duke's coffin, so to speak. 'His irresponsible behavior and dodgy associations have irritated my brother for some time. But nothing is more damaging to the monarchy than Andrew's current situation.”

Sward continued that the alleged spy, Teng Bo, was a friend of the Duke of York and had been invited to the royal residence for years, “The British government, MI6, and the Chinese government are all involved. It's like a TV spy special”.

She noted that the Duke's situation is even worse now that his mother, Queen Elizabeth, has died. “The multiple scandals he has been embroiled in have embarrassed his family and made him an object of ridicule,” Sward shared, adding that ”when the Queen was alive, he was partially protected by her devotion.”

As for Andrew's revised Christmas plans, it appears that he will spend a quiet Christmas at the Royal Lodge with his only support, his ex-wife Ferguson, as Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice spend the vacations with their respective in-laws.