Prince Charles set for showdown with brother Prince Andrew upon return from royal tour

Prince Charles is on his way back to the UK and gearing up for a showdown with his brother after wrapping up his royal tour in the South Pacific.

Prince Charles is gearing up for a showdown with his younger brother, Prince Andrew, as the Duke of York faces yet another humiliating blow.

The Prince of Wales is flying back to the United Kingdom after wrapping up his tour of New Zealand and the South Pacific in the Solomon Islands on Monday.

He is reportedly furious that his brother’s disastrous BBC interview overshadowed the royal tour, and is planning to give the Duke a dressing down when he arrives on Tuesday (local time).

Prince Charles left the Solomon Islands at the end of his royal tour on Monday. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

He was given a guard of honour as he left Honiara. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

On Sunday, Buckingham Palace confirmed Prince Andrew would be “standing back” from all his patronages as well as his royal duties as he continues to face questions about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“The Duke has over 230 patronages. He will be stepping back from public duty and temporarily standing back from all his patronages,” a spokeswoman told the PA news agency.

But he will continue to work on his Pitch@Palace program – the program designed to help young entrepreneurs that was dropped by several Australian universities last week – she said.

“(The Duke) will look at how he takes this forward outside of his public duties, and outside of Buckingham Palace. We recognise there will be a period of time while this transition takes place,” the spokeswoman said.

Prince Andrew is facing a firestorm of criticism over his friendship with Epstein. Picture: Steve Parsons/PA via AP

QUEEN CANCELS BIRTHDAY BASH

It comes after a humiliating week for Prince Andrew in which the backlash from his Newsnight interview reached a crescendo that saw him forced to step down from royal duties for the “forseeable future”.

The Queen is said to be quietly standing by her son, with the two spotted horseriding together in Windsor last week.

But in another embarrassing blow for the Duke, she has cancelled his 60th birthday party, which she planned to host on February 19 next year.

When Prince Charles turned 60 in 2008, he was given a 41-gun salute in Hyde Park and a party with more than 400 guests including European royalty and members of his charity.

But Prince Andrew will now be given just a private family dinner, according to local media.

Prince Andrew said it was not "becoming of a member of the Royal Family" to continue his friendship with Epstein. Picture: BBC

He said he had "let the side down" by staying at his home. Picture: BBC

FAMILY DAMAGED BY SCANDAL

The latest government stats show just six per cent of British people believe Prince Andrew is telling the truth about Epstein.

A whopping 47 per cent also believe the scandal has damaged the monarchy as a whole.

The Duke told BBC Newsnight he was primarily friends with Epstein because the financier was dating his friend, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.

“It was his girlfriend that was the key element in this … he was the, as it were, plus one,” he said.

RELATED: Where is Ghislaine Maxwell?

RELATED: Prince Andrew met with Epstein’s ‘madam’ at Buckingham Palace

But Ms Maxwell, who is accused of being Epstein’s “madam”, has been entirely absent from the scandal so far.

Prince Andrew said he last saw her earlier this year when she was in the UK for “some rally” but the two did not discuss Epstein.

“There wasn’t anything to discuss about him because he wasn’t in the news, you know, it was just … we had moved on,” he said.

Ghislaine Maxwell is the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein. Picture: Rob Kim/GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP

Ms Maxwell has been accused of being Epstein’s “madam”. Picture: Davidoff Studios/Getty Images

Sources say Ms Maxwell is now planning to come out of hiding and defend both herself and the Prince against the allegations.

A US source close to her lawyers told The Sun she was preparing to speak within days, either by talking to the FBI or giving a statement to the media.

“She has to defend herself. She has no option. She will have to address this guilt by association,” they said.

The royal family is also bracing for a subpoena, which will ask Prince Andrew to give evidence about his ties to Epstein under oath.