Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has seen better days. For his troubled links to the paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, Andrew was stripped of his right to be a prince, he had to move to a much more humble home, and since his arrest, he has only been seen on an occassional dog walk. While King Charles III and Prince William seem to have cut contact with the former prince, chances are he has remained in touch with his other siblings, Princess Anne and Prince Edward.

Edward and his wife Sophie are said to have visited him at Wood Farm over the Easter break for dinner in what has been described as a "brotherly welfare check". While it is also understood that Anne, who has faced protesters at events shouting about her brother and his connections to Epstein, has been in phone contact with him, with it reported she even suggested he could move to her Gatcombe Park estate in Gloucestershire, The Mirror reports.

According to a former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond, this is because the two have more freedom to speak to the former Duke of York.

She told the Mirror: "I think this is an illustration of the separation of the institution of monarchy and the royal family. The King and his heir, William, have a vested interest in protecting the monarchy - and feel they have a duty to do so.

"Andrew poses a threat to the good name of the monarchy, and so both Charles and William are keeping their distance. I'm sure Anne and Edward feel the same loyalty to the Crown, but they are also slightly more at liberty to keep in contact with their brother, Andrew. And it seems they are doing so."

Bond added: "No one has any idea what Edward and Sophie discussed with Andrew. Personally, I doubt it was anything to do with the move to Marsh Farm. It's reported that they stayed for dinner, so I think this was much more a chance for Edward to check up on his brother's mental and physical well-being. Some reports say Andrew is as pompous as ever, but others suggest that he is profoundly depressed.

"In the end I suppose it shows us that, while there is no way back for Andrew and it will probably be a very long time before we see him with other members of the family in public, Edward - and it's believed Anne - are privately keeping communication channels open. And they undoubtedly keep the King in the picture too.

"But I guess Edward's visit suggests that behind the stoic face of the royal family there lies a beating heart. We can only hope that one of them exerts some pressure on their brother to do the decent thing and tell the US authorities what he knows about Epstein."

Using his liberties, Edward became the first member of the Royal Family to publicly speak out on the Epstein scandal.

He said at a Dubai conference: "I think it's all really important always to remember the victims and who are the victims in all this? A lot of victims in this."

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly and vehemently denied any wrongdoing regarding his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.