Prince Andrew on low key golfing trip to Castle Stuart course and is guest at Inverness 5-star hotel
Disgraced Prince Andrew has been to Inverness to play golf and was a guest at a top local hotel.
The Duke of York with three male friends was seen golfing at Castle Stuart, the championship course near the city.
The foursome, who each had a liveried caddy, were understood to be from Royal Blackheath Golf Club near Greenwich, Kent, the oldest golf club in England having been instituted in 1608.
Prince Andrew’s Highland visit last week took place while Prince William and the duke's daughter Beatrice hosted a garden party at Buckingham Palace.
The Duke of York, wearing a navy jumper with a grey baseball cap, appeared relaxed as he enjoyed his round of golf.
And the 64-year-old was blessed with such good weather that he rolled his sleeves up as the sun beat down on the immaculate golf course with its splendid sea views over the Moray Firth towards the Black Isle.
It is understood that the duke and his party used Ness Walk hotel, an idyllic riverside 5-star retreat hotel that was a 19th-century house, before being restored and vastly upgraded.
The Grade B listed building still retains many of its features from the past but has been vastly upgraded with modern design and architecture.
Set in leafy grounds, Ness Walk is secluded and behind security gates, but at the same time is not far from the heart of the city.
In 2014, Virginia Giuffre from America alleged that, as a 17-year-old, she was sex trafficked to Prince Andrew by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The duke, who holds the title Earl of Inverness, has always denied any wrongdoing.
Following criticism for his association with Epstein, Andrew resigned from public roles in May 2020, and his honorary military affiliations and royal charitable patronages were removed by the Queen in January 2022.
He was the defendant in a civil lawsuit filed by Ms Giuffre in New York State. This legal action was settled out of court in February 2022. In the settlement, Andrew paid an undisclosed sum to Ms Giuffre.
Since the prince became a target of criticism there have been petitions raised in efforts to strip him of his Earl of Inverness title.
