Prince Andrew will miss what was expected to be one of the largest festive events at his brother, the King's private Norfolk estate, where 45 members of their family had been expected to spend Christmas Day.
The duke has hit the headlines once again this week after a High Court hearing revealed alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo, who was banned from the UK, was said to have been a "close" confidant of Andrew.
The duke's ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York will also miss Christmas at Sandringham, in what will be seen as a show of solidarity for her former husband.
The British royal family will hold their traditional Christmas gathering at Sandringham Estate. (EPA PHOTO)
The pair are said to be preparing to spend the day together at Royal Lodge, the home they still share in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire.
It is not yet known whether the duke will attend Charles' traditional pre-Christmas lunch for the extended family at Buckingham Palace on Thursday.
Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, who have young families, had already planned to spend Christmas with their respective in-laws this year for the first time, sources said.
Yang, who was named after an anonymity order was lifted on Monday, has insisted it was "entirely untrue" to claim he was involved in espionage and that he has "done nothing wrong or unlawful".
The businessman, previously referred to only as H6 in the legal case, was the founder-partner of the Chinese arm of the duke's Pitch@Palace initiative, and twice visited Buckingham Palace in 2018 to meet with the late Queen's second son.
He is also said to have entered St James's Palace and Windsor Castle at Andrew's invitation.
It has been reported the King was briefed by the intelligence services about his brother's links to Yang, who also goes by the name Christopher Yang.
The King was said to have been hoping the duke would make the decision to miss Sandringham to prevent Charles and the royal family facing any further embarrassment, with Andrew urged by insiders to "to do the decent thing".
On Friday, the duke's office said Andrew "ceased all contact" with the then-unnamed businessman when concerns were first raised about him.
Andrew met Yang through "official channels" with "nothing of a sensitive nature ever discussed", a statement said.
The duke, 64, disappeared from public life since stepping down from official duties in 2019, but he carried on joining the royal family for Christmas Day.
