Sarah Ferguson urged by Charles and Camilla to convince Andrew to 'completely withdraw from royal life'

After discussing the issue with his ex-wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, the beleaguered duke made up his mind on Monday to skip the annual celebrations in Norfolk.

There was concern that Andrew's presence would put the King, who is still undergoing cancer treatment, in a harsh position given the furore over his brother’s links with alleged Chinese spy, Yang Tengbo.

GB News understands that Andrew's children, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, had already opted to spend Christmas with their respective in-laws, having not had the chance to do so for several years.

It has not yet been officially confirmed whether Andrew will still attend a pre-Sandringham lunch thrown by the King at Buckingham Palace for up to 70 family members on Thursday.

However, there is a clear "working assumption" at the Palace that the Duke of York will recuse himself from the event.

Many royal commentators have claimed that Andrew's latest scandal surrounding the alleged Chinese spy has set the seal on his public humiliation.

It has led insiders to question whether he will ever appear with the family again in public outside of weddings or funerals.

Andrew has already been stripped of holding any public role or patronage over his links with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

The King and Queen have reportedly made clear privately that they would consider it a blessing if Fergie were to persuade her ex-husband to "see sense" and tactfully withdraw from all imminent family gatherings.

A source told The Mail: "I find it hard to imagine he will ever join them again in public if I’m honest.

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"There’s only so many times the duke can be asked to keep his head down and wait for the storm to pass. Enough is enough."

It is not clear what the Duke and Duchess of York will do over the festive season, especially given their children and grandchildren are elsewhere.

They could go away together, although some friends believe it is more likely they will remain at Royal Lodge with their dogs, including the late Queen Elizabeth II’s corgis.

Another source added: "Sarah is tremendously loyal and I think it unlikely she will want to leave his side, especially now he is so down."

The alleged spy, Yang Tengbo, has strenuously denied the allegations and any wrongdoing, while Prince Andrew claimed he had "ceased all contact" with the businessman in a rare statement last week.