Could Prince Andrew really return to public life?

Is Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, softly being rehabilitated?

That was the speculation aft helium was photographed successful a car with the Prince and Princess of Wales, connected their mode to a religion work adjacent Balmoral, connected the Royal Family's yearly enactment successful Scotland.

The grainy photograph of him successful a Range Rover was seen arsenic grounds of an olive subdivision being extended - the Royal Family subtly opening the thawing process aft helium had been frozen retired of nationalist life.

But could that truly beryllium the case? After his connections with enactment offender Jeffrey Epstein and the colony pursuing the civilian tribunal lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre, would the nationalist judge seeing much of the Royal Family's invisible man?

"People aren't acceptable for his return," says Anna Whitelock, royal commentator and prof of the past of modern monarchy astatine City, University of London.

King Charles is inactive trying to "establish his ain individuality arsenic monarch", she says, truthful bringing backmost Prince Andrew would beryllium "very risky" successful presumption of nationalist opinion.

The King should not let his inactive comparatively caller reign to go defined by a enactment implicit bringing backmost Prince Andrew, she argues. "It would beryllium incorrect for this to beryllium his biggest decision."

In presumption of household difficulties, Prof Whitelock believes the "priority should beryllium repairing the narration with Prince Harry".

Prince Andrew mightiness beryllium keen to get backmost into royal duties, but Prof Whitelock says for the Royal Family, arsenic an instauration alternatively than arsenic a family, determination are lone negatives.

And a well-placed root says that excessively overmuch is being work into this car travel and that thing has changed astir the prince's status.

He mightiness be a household event, but that is fundamentally antithetic from carrying retired royal duties.

But for idiosyncratic erstwhile known arsenic Air Miles Andy, the Duke of York volition not privation to enactment cooped up successful Windsor forever, repeatedly photographed successful his car, which indispensable consciousness much similar a merry-go-round.

So is determination immoderate mode back?

Prince Andrew has ever powerfully denied immoderate wrongdoing successful the claims against him, but writer and historiographer Sir Anthony Seldon says immoderate comeback would necessitate "remorse and contrition".

"Without genuine and wholly convincing humility, and satisfactory explanations for the past questions, a premature instrumentality could termination disconnected his chances of a rehabilitation forever, and further harm the monarchy," says Sir Anthony.

Gideon Benaim, caput of the estimation extortion squad astatine instrumentality steadfast Simkins, says restoring Prince Andrew's representation would beryllium a challenge.

"The nationalist has intelligibly formed Prince Andrew into a bleak reputational pit and fewer are acceptable to see oregon judge his rehabilitation," says Mr Benaim.

"However, radical besides similar to forgive. If, with the transition of time, they are provided with grounds of genuine contrition, humility and a consciousness that a idiosyncratic has learned the lessons of their ain mediocre behaviour, they volition tolerate rehabilitation," says the solicitor and estimation expert.

The way backmost would mean "working for decades for the nationalist good" and helium gives the illustration of the 1960s person John Profumo, who fell from grace aft a enactment ungraded and past softly did foundation enactment for galore years successful London's East End.

He yet restored his name, receiving a CBE from Queen Elizabeth successful 1975.

But different royal insider, who wants to stay anonymous, does not judge that 63-year-old Prince Andrew is chopped retired to judge a beingness of humble foundation work.

"Entitlement is the Achilles bottommost of the royals," says this adjacent observer, who besides thinks Prince William made a mistake successful putting his uncle successful the beforehand spot of his car erstwhile retired successful public.

"It was either naive oregon misjudged," said the source, who believes that Andrew remains a restless figure, who volition support trying to get backmost into nationalist life.

Part of the complication with stories astir Prince Andrew is that truthful overmuch is successful the shadowlands of anonymous sources and unidentified "friends".

As a non-working royal, Prince Andrew is not dealt with by palace spokespeople. Instead determination is simply a swirl of unofficial comments and often contradictory rumour. Red herrings don't get caught.

We perceive thing straight of the views of the antheral astatine the centre of each this. Instead, determination are occasional glimpses, specified arsenic his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, talking astir Andrew's consciousness of loneliness astatine the nonaccomplishment of his parents.

The duke and duchess unrecorded unneurotic successful Royal Lodge successful Windsor, with a 75-year lease they are showing nary motion of giving up. For a divorced mates they look much joined than astir joined people.

But determination are immoderate applicable reasons not to expect immoderate imminent instrumentality for Prince Andrew.

Royal advisers volition beryllium keenly alert of his quality to acceptable disconnected quality landmines. What if further embarrassments look from US tribunal cases astir Jeffrey Epstein?

There is besides the unmistakable connection of sentiment polls. YouGov surveys amusement him arsenic profoundly unpopular with the public, astir precocious astatine -72 successful favourability ratings.

As estimation lawyer Mr Benaim says, determination would beryllium a "mountain to climb" to bring him backmost successful from the cold.