Charles refuses to answer questions about Andrew while visiting the storm-hit property

Prince Charles refuses to answer questions about his younger brother’s position as he tours a stormy country estate the day after Prince Andrew is stripped of his honorary military titles and ditched his Royal Highness style.

Buckingham Palace announced, Thursday evening, the return of Prince Andrew’s military affiliations and royal patronage to Queen Elizabeth.

The move came after a judge in America denied Andrew’s request to dismiss a civil sexual assault case against him, ruling that he could be tried.

Charles, Duke of Rothsay in Scotland, was pressured by a reporter on the issue when he met people involved in the clean-up operation after Storm Irwin in northeastern Scotland.

A reporter asked him what he thought of Andrew’s situation – but Prince Charles shrugged off the question, continuing to shake hands with some who had been there to meet him at a storm-hit country estate.

Between 500,000 and 1 million trees were uprooted on the Haddo Estate in Aberdeenshire at the end of November as winds of up to 100 mph swept the area.

Efforts to clear forests that were once dense with deciduous trees before replanting have just begun.

Charles spoke to Landscaping Director, Oliver Deming, and Head of Visitor Services, Susanna Atkinson, as he walked down the Scotts Mile towards the National Trust for Scotland property in the center of the estate, Hadow House.

At home, the Prince met with representatives from Aberdeenshire Council, police and power provider SSEN to hear the impact of Storm Irwin and the state of recovery efforts.

The country park is currently closed to visitors for safety reasons due to storm damage.

A local resident said that Charles’ visit was the first day for some time that the sound of leaflets throughout the area had not rang out.

The visit also comes after the British prime minister’s former director of communications issued an apology for the 10th ceremony, which took place the night before Prince Philip’s funeral.

James Slack, who until last year was Boris Johnson’s director of communications, apologized Friday morning for the «anger and hurt» his departure party had caused in April 2021.

The Daily Telegraph reported that advisers and civil servants met after working at two separate events on April 16, 2021, as the country was in a period of mourning following the death of Prince Philip.