The Royal Family were allsmiles as they drove to the House of Windsor’s major Christmas bash in London on Tuesday. Each year, King Charles hosts a massive lunch for the extended Royal Family to kick off the festive season, before the senior royals and close family congregate at the monarch’s vast estate in Norfolk for Christmas Day itself.

This year, there is one notable absence from the festive celebrations: Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. The disgraced former prince was seemingly not invited to the large royal celebration yesterday, and while his relatives were snapped by photographers, beaming and smartly dressed, ready to celebrate, he had a far more low-key day.

Sarah Ferguson, Andrew’s ex-wife, and the former Duke of York did not attend the Christmas celebrations last year either. This year, with the deadline for the full release of the Epstein files fast approaching, and formally stripped by the King of his titles and royal styles, it’s no surprise that Andrew hasn’t scored an invite – but his daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice, are still firmly inside the fold.

One expert has accused a “solemn and gloomy” Andrew, who was spotted horse riding in Windsor Great Park yesterday, of ensuring that his two daughters could well end up feeling a little “guilty” about heading off to the party without him. The Mirror takes a look at the two, incredibly contrasting, ways they spent the day.

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Andrew was spotted in gloomy weather on a horse ride and looking pretty miserable. Body language and communications expert Judi James said he seemed like he had gone “full on Marley’s ghost” in the photos snapped of the moment.

“Teeth gritted and eyes fixed ahead to suggest a determination to soldier on here, despite the rain that is equally determined to make him look like a sodden figure of solitary dejection on his horse,” Judi explained. The expert added, “His features show no sign of riding pleasure or exhilaration here, he just sits in the saddle looking solemn and gloomy”.

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Judi pointed out that Andrew looked in “complete contrast” to his cheerful and beaming daughters on their way to the royal Christmas lunch.

“Andrew’s appearance could hardly be more designed to create a total visual contrast to that of his grinning, chuckling daughters, cocooned in the warmth of their car as they drove off to a joyful-looking family Xmas that he would apparently not be attending,” the expert added, pointing out that, “If you want to not make people close to you feel any trace of guilt about going to a bash you are not, you might normally wave them off cheerily while cuddling up in front of a tv movie with Deliveroo on speed-dial”.

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Max Mumby)

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“Andrew appears to have gone full-on ‘Marley’s ghost’ here, with the rain dripping of the peak of his riding hat running obligingly in front of his face like a mini-Niagara,” Judi added about the images of the King’s brother in the unpleasant weather, whilst his family tucked into a lunch fit for a king miles away.

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Andrew’s solitary ride presented a “complete contrast to the Firm’s selection of beaming, glowing and shiny-with Xmas excitement faces as they make their way off to the feast,” Judi explained, showing just how far Andrew has fallen from grace.

However, King Charles is clearly showing no signs of tarring his nieces Eugenie and Beatrice with the same brush as their controversial parents – with both sisters very much inside the fold.

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Max Mumby)

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Andrew and Sarah will both be moving out of their long-term home of Royal Lodge, but a date they will finally hand the keys back has not been announced.

The King’s brother will be moving to a property on the Sandringham Estate, and Sarah has been tipped to have a couple of options, including an annex at her daughter Beatrice’s Cotswolds home, or a “suite” at Eugenie’s Portugal mansion.

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King Charles is known to be close to Beatrice and Eugenie and is likely to continue to include them in royal events should they wish to attend – even if their disgraced parents are no longer welcome in the public eye.

Charles dubbed Andrew as making “serious lapses of judgement,” when it came to his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The King announced in a blistering statement that he would be taking away his younger brother’s royal privileges, and threw his support behind “survivors of any and all forms of abuse”.