The Duke of York will turn 60 years old on February 19 and with that birthday usually also comes a military promotion. But Prince Andrew has decided to turn down the promotion to Admiral, in accordance with his plan to stay out of the spotlight after stepping back from all royal duties in late November.
His retirement from royal life "for the foreseeable future" came after his disastrous TV interview in which he tried to explain his relationship with the late Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew has deferred the promotion to Admiral
Although Prince Andrew retired from the Royal Navy in 2011, it is still tradition that senior members of the royal family receive military promotions even after active service as they get older. A statement by Buckingham Palace concerning the matter reads as follows:
"Following the decision by His Royal Highness to step back from public duties for the foreseeable future, the Duke of York has asked the Ministry of Defence if this promotion might be deferred until such time that His Royal Highness returns to public duty."
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Will Prince Andrew ever "return to public duty"?
Recently, he has made headlines again when a U.S. attorney claimed that the Duke had provided "zero cooperation" with law enforcement in the Epstein case and Queen Elizabeth II met with Prince Charles for an emergency meeting about Prince Andrew's future.
But will Prince Andrew ever "return to public duty"? We will have to wait and see...