Andrew still hoped for comeback as aides ‘promised they’d find a way’

Prince Andrew did not accept that a royal comeback was doomed as aides kept telling him they would find a way back for him, it has been claimed. There have been ongoing reports that the Duke of York wanted a new royal role after stepping back in 2019 amid the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.But it was claimed last week that he was left “tearful” and “blindsided” after the then Prince Charles dashed his hopes in a meeting at Birkhall in Scotland in September, days before the late Queen’s death.Andrew reportedly still thought he could make a royal return as aides kept telling him they would find a way.A source told The Times that the meeting was necessary and important, adding: ‘The fact is that the duke has been slow to accept where he is.’The insider said the Duke had been promised by advisers that they could “get him back to work”. Prince Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019 (Image: GETTY)Andrew is said to have been left “bereft” following the meeting with his older brother, who is now King.A source told the Mail on Sunday: “Naive as it may sound, he always had hopes of regaining his position as a senior royal.”At the meeting, Charles told him that he can go off and have a good life, a nice life, but that his public life as a royal is at an end. He was told, ‘You have to accept this.'”The 62-year-old stepped back from public duties in 2019 following his disastrous Newsnight interview over his association with billionaire paedophile Epstein.And he lost his HRH style and military roles earlier this year ahead of paying millions to settle a civil sex assault case brought against him in the US by Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre.Ms Giuffre accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her when she was 17.He has always strenuously denied the claims and the settlement was not an admission of guilt on the part of the Duke. Andrew has always strenuously denied Virginia Giuffre’s allegations against him (Image: GETTY)Earlier this year, it was reported that Andrew wanted his HRH status back, along with his Colonel of the Grenadier Guards role.A source told the Telegraph: “The colonelcy of the Grenadier Guards was his most coveted title and he wants it back.”Having remained a Counsellor of State, he also believes he should be included at royal and state events.”Most importantly for him is his status as an HRH and ‘Prince of the Blood’ and he feels that should be reinstated and his position recognised and respected.”