Prince Edward and his wife Sophie were reportedly told to share a cottage with Andrew for Christmas before the disgraced Duke of York returned his invitation.

The pair were said to be 'relieved' when Andrew sent back his invite after pressure increased on the royal following links to alleged Chinese spy Yang Tengbo.

The Duke of Edinburgh and his wife were 'less than pleased' after they were reportedly told to share accommodation with the under-fire Duke of York.

Andrew is now expected to spend the holidays in Windsor with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson instead. He also pulled out of a pre-Christmas lunch for royals at Buckingham Palace last Thursday.

After speaking to his ex-wife the Duchess of York, Prince Andrew has decided not to join 70 members of the Royal Family at the palace.

It had been claimed Andrew was insisting on going to the lunch, telling friends 'he should be there', and that as it's a family occasion, 'why shouldn't he go?'

But MailOnline understands Sarah persuaded him not to attend.

According to The Sun, the Edinburgh's were privately relieved when Andrew returned his invitation to Sandringham and were unhappy at the thought of Christmas 'cheek by jowl with the Yorks'.

Royal aides couldn't hide their relief on Monday after it was revealed the Duke had decided to 'do the decent thing' and spare the King's blushes by pulling out of the official festive celebrations and the walk to church.

However, each year the monarch also invites his large extended family – aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces, nephews, husbands and wives – who don't make the cut to Sandringham, to meet up for a big festive meal in London. Up until the last minute, it was unclear as to whether Prince Andrew would attend.

Senior royal aides had been optimistically operating on the 'working assumption' the Duke would 'see sense' again and decide to 'keep his head down'.

They felt his presence at 'monarchy HQ' would send a 'conflicting and confusing message', having taken what was described as 'the gentlemanly option' over Sandringham.

It is understood the King is 'very grateful' for Sarah's involvement in negotiating a mutually acceptable conclusion.

'It's a very delicate situation for all involved, particularly the duchess who has been supportive of the duke through his travails and also respectful of the King and Queen,' one insider said.

'It's tricky. They are family. [But] it is an honourable outcome for all and the King is very grateful [to the duchess].'

The lunch is private, but guests are usually photographed going in and out of the palace gates.

There are grave concerns about the depth of Andrew's involvement with Mr Yang who, it emerged, referred to himself as the 'special envoy of Prince Andrew'.

He was appointed by the royal as head of his Pitch@Palace China, a Dragons' Den-style initiative from which the Duke took a cut.

Andrew insisted he has done nothing wrong, despite a judge raising questions about how the alleged spy could have become such a 'close confidant'.

It follows on from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal and concerns over the Duke's role as an official UK 'trade ambassador'.

The Court Circular also records Yang as having been invited into several royal residences.

But the most damning revelation was the emergence of correspondence in 2021 from his 'senior advisor', Dominic Hampshire, found by security services on Mr Yang's phone.

Investigations continue into what access Mr Yang had when he visited royal residences several times on Andrew's invitation.

Mr Yang, a businessman who forged close ties to the Duke of York and met senior politicians including Lord David Cameron and Baroness Theresa May, has been banned from the UK since last year.

He challenged his ban on entering the UK at the Special Immigration Appeals Commission in July, but lost his appeal.

He has insisted he has 'done nothing wrong or unlawful', and said it is 'entirely untrue' to claim he was involved in espionage, and claimed he is a victim of a 'political climate' which had seen a rise in tensions between the UK and China.

In a statement after a High Court judge lifted an order granting him anonymity, he said: 'Due to the high level of speculation and misreporting in the media and elsewhere, I have asked my legal team to disclose my identity.

'I have done nothing wrong or unlawful and the concerns raised by the Home Office against me are ill-founded. The widespread description of me as a 'spy' is entirely untrue.'