Prince Andrew was recently spotted leaving Buckingham Palace alongside Prince Charles, who forced him to retire from royal duties last month in the wake of the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. 

The Duke of York attended the annual Christmas party thrown by Queen Elizabeth II on Monday evening to thank her staff.  

Hours later, Prince Andrew was seen leaving the palace in a Bentley, sitting in the driver's seat with an unknown man on the passenger side. He was then followed by the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester in another car.

According to the Court Circular, the party was not a public event, and it would not be unusual for Prince Andrew to attend it as it does not fall into any of the family's official royal duties. However, he is still expected to attend next year's Trooping the Colour and Remembrance Sunday since he is a war veteran and a Royal Colonel.  

Queen Elizabeth II hosts the party each year and reportedly even pays for the entire thing out of her own pocket to say thank you to the loyal employees. She usually has canapes and drinks in the Palace's State rooms. 

The event is expected to run for around two hours formally and would be joined by senior royals. After the royals leave, the staff could continue the celebrations well into the night. 

According to royal expert Phil Dampier, Prince Andrew's attendance at the traditional event only proves that the 59-year-old royal was the Queen's "favorite son."

Speaking to Fabulous Digital, Dampier said that the fact that the Prince has turned up to the Christmas event at Buckingham Palace shows that the rest of the royal family is supporting him

"If he had not gone, it would have looked terrible, like he was an outcast from his own relatives. The Queen, in particular, will have been anxious to show solidarity with her favorite son," Dampier explained.

The royal expert continued that the Queen and other senior royals may spare the Duke of York from a bit of friction with the future King. 

The timing of the event could be "awkward" after Prince Charles shared some strong words with his younger brother. 

Dampier added, "Prince Charles is said to have read the riot act to Andrew and told him to drop out of public life for the foreseeable future, and possibly permanently."

He also reported that the Prince of Wales is fond of his little brother but realized that his brother had to stop doing royal duties for the sake of the monarchy in the wake of the scandal, which is not going away and could even get worse. 

Prince Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson recently gave an interview with Vogue Arabia and came to the Duke of York's defense, saying, "To see such a wonderful man go through such enormous pain. He is the best man I know. It's just incredible what he has done for Britain, and it's all nonsense." 

The Queen is also reported to host a pre-Christmas turkey feast for their extended family in Buckingham Palace on Wednesday before heading to Sandringham Palace for the festive period. 

There have been reports that Prince Andrew could be barred from his mother's Christmas Day church service over fears that his Epstein ties would spark more protests. 

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