King Charles Looked 'Withered' on His 77th Birthday as 'Nightmare' Ex-Prince Andrew Has Taken a Visible Toll on Him Following Various Scandals

King Charles isn’t planning a major 77th birthday celebration as the ongoing drama surrounding his younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, continues to cast a dark cloud over the occasion.

Charles marked his 77th birthday on Friday, November 14, and according to royal expert Hilary Fordwich, he planned to spend the milestone "focused on duty," as he remains "deeply troubled" by his sibling's controversies. Fordwich explained that one day prior, the King was "particularly emotional" and shed a tear during the Cenotaph Parade.

"He was withered and withdrawn, with one able to observe the toll the Andrew nightmare had taken on him," the expert told a news outlet on Friday, November 14. "He appeared to be somewhat resolute. He is also known to be wanting to double down on duty, rather than anything verging on a shallow or frivolous celebration."

Buckingham Palace announced on October 30 that Andrew, 65, and his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, were stripped of all their royal titles and privileges, in addition to being evicted from the Royal Lodge. The move followed mounting pressure to penalize the disgraced royal over his ties to late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and the release of Virginia Giuffre's posthumous memoir, in which she claimed she was forced to have s-- with him at age 17.

According to Fordwich, Andrew isn't taking the changes in stride and is "refusing to negotiate residence terms" following his eviction from the Royal Lodge, adding this has "merely served to widen the gulf between himself and the family at large."

"While Andrew, of course, will always remain his brother, now that he’s a private citizen, the king is likely to further publicly distance himself," Fordwich shared. "We won’t be seeing Andrew at any birthday festivities. He’s actually made it worse for himself due to his pride and pervasively privileged attitude, thinking he’s still entitled."

Andrew continues to find himself in hot water as the former royal was named multiple times in Epstein’s leaked emails by the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday, November 12.

According to the emails, Andrew – who was referred to as "the Duke" in the messages – tried to distance himself from Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell. One March 2011 email sent to Andrew claimed the Daily Mail planned to run a story featuring allegations from one of their victims, whom The Royalist believed to be Giuffre.

"Please make sure that every statement or legal letter states clearly that I am NOT involved and that I knew and know NOTHING about any of these allegations. I can’t take any more of this my end," the former prince allegedly wrote back.