Royal experts believe Prince Andrew's public life is over, despite being pictured with the royal family at Christmas

• Prince Andrew will make limited appearances with the royals in 2024, royal commentators told BI. 
• The prince's appearance on Christmas was an exception since it was a private event, they said. 
• Andrew stepped back from royal duties in 2019.

Prince Andrew is likely to keep a low profile in 2024 despite being photographed with the royal family at Christmas, experts say.

King Charles' brother made a rare appearance at an annual Christmas Day church service attended by the royal family in Sandringham. Andrew's public appearances have been sparing since 2019, when he stepped back from royal duties as a result of the public backlash caused by his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Royal commentator Victoria Arbiter told BI that Andrew's appearance on Christmas Day shouldn't come as a surprise since it was a private event.

"Despite being widely covered by the press, it is considered a private occasion, and I think it's likely to be the only time we see him alongside members of his family," Victoria, cohost of the YouTube show "Dickie and Vickie's Royal Report," told BI.

Arbiter said it's likely that Charles will continue to bar Andrew from attending official royal family events in 2024. The prince has made limited appearances in recent years; while he attended the king's coronation in May, he did not appear at the monarch's birthday parade in June or the royal family's Remembrance Sunday service in November.

"Yes, Andrew may be seen at family occasions in the years ahead, but his public life is over," she said.

Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams agrees with Arbiter's comments, telling BI that Andrew will only be seen "sparingly" at funerals, memorial services, and religious services.

Buckingham Palace did not respond to a request for comment regarding Andrew's potential future appearances with the royal family.

Andrew was first accused of sexual assault in 2015

Andrew's alleged involvement with Epstein's sex trafficking scandal was brought to the public's attention once again this week, when he was named in unsealed court documents from a 2015 lawsuit involving an Epstein accuser, BI previously reported. Buckingham Palace did not respond to requests for comment on the matter.

Andrew was first accused of sexual assault in 2015, when Virginia Giuffre alleged that Epstein forced her to have sex with the prince at multiple locations in 2001 when she was 17, including Epstein's mansion in New York.

Giuffre made the allegations during a defamation trial against Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell; however, her claims were struck from the record by the judge, who said it wasn't relevant to the case.

After documents from the 2015 court case were unsealed in 2019, Buckingham Palace released a statement defending the prince.

"It is emphatically denied that The Duke of York had any form of sexual contact or relationship with Virginia Roberts," a palace spokesperson said at the time. "Any claim to the contrary is false and without foundation."

Andrew continued to deny Giuffre's allegations in a BBC "Newsnight" interview in November 2019. That same month, he announced his step back from royal duties.

In August 2021, Giuffre filed a lawsuit accusing the prince of sexual assault. In January 2022, Buckingham Palace released a statement saying Andrew would face the lawsuit as a private citizen.

"With The Queen's approval and agreement, The Duke of York's military affiliations and Royal patronages have been returned to The Queen," the spokesperson said. "The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen."

Andrew and Giuffre reached an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed sum in February 2022.