Prince Andrew Is Almost Thrown from His Horse in Dramatic Photos of His Morning Ride in Windsor

The Duke of York avoided a fall from his horse after it seemed to get spooked

Prince Andrew was in for a bumpy ride during a trail ride around the grounds of Windsor Castle.

On Nov. 18, the Duke of York, 64, was photographed riding in Windsor, where his horse seemingly got spooked. The dramatic photos show the black horse throwing up its head and Prince Andrew pulling back on the reins while up in the stirrups, reacting to get the animal under control.

King Charles' younger brother was then able to get the horse under control "after a nerve-racking few minutes" and continued on his way, the Daily Mail reported of the morning excursion. He went riding at Windsor after it emerged earlier this week that two masked intruders broke into farm buildings on the estate in October, while Prince William, Kate Middleton and their kids reportedly slept in their nearby home.

A passion for horses and equestrian sports seems to run in the royal family, with Queen Elizabeth riding up until the summer before her death in September 2022 at age 96. The late Queen and Prince Andrew were known to go riding together, and they went horseback riding a few days after he stepped back from royal duties in 2019 following his bombshell BBC Newsnight interview.

Related: Masked Men Reportedly Break into Windsor Castle Farm Close to Home of Kate Middleton and Prince William

In November 2019, Newsnight filmed and aired a bombshell interview with Andrew about his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the allegations that he had sex with Virginia Roberts Giuffre when she was 17. Epstein died in prison while awaiting federal sex trafficking charges in August 2019, and the Queen's son sat down with Newsnight anchor Emily Maitlis several months later.

Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and announced his step back from royal duties a few days after the explosive interview aired. The royal said he continued to "unequivocally regret my ill-judged association with Jeffrey Epstein" in the official statement announcing his step back.

The transition was made official when Queen Elizabeth stripped Andrew of his military titles and patronages in January 2022 amid Giuffre's civil sexual assault lawsuit. Giuffree alleged in the litigation that she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with the Duke of York on three occasions between 1999 and 2002, when she was a teenager. An out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed sum was reached the following month.

Related: 7 Biggest Bombshells from Prince Andrew's 'No Holds Barred' Interview About Jeffrey Epstein

Prince Andrew's scandal has since inspired two fictionalized television renditions. The Netflix movie Scoop, starring Rufus Sewell as Andrew and Gillian Anderson as Maitlis, debuted in April, and the Amazon Prime series A Very Royal Scandal, featuring Michael Sheen as the Duke of York and Ruth Wilson as Maitlis, premiered in September.

"It started as, in a sense, a non-story, and then it became the biggest story in the world," Sam McAlister, a lead producer behind the Newsnight interview, whose 2022 memoir, Scoops, inspired the Netflix film, previously told PEOPLE.

"We are still talking about it these years later, and I'm sure that we'll still be talking about it for generations to come, in terms of its journalistic and royal significance," she said.

Though Andrew is no longer a working royal, he has joined his family at events including Queen Elizabeth's state funeral in September 2022, the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla in May 2023 and most recently, the royal family's church outing on Easter.

On the holiday, which fell this year on March 31, the Duke of York stepped out for the Easter Mattins Service at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. He joined King Charles, 76, Queen Camilla, 77, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, his sister Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, his brother Prince Edward and Edward's wife Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh.

It was a slimmed-down contingent without the Prince and Princess of Wales and their children, as Princess Kate had announced just a few days before that she was undergoing treatment for cancer.

Princess Kate, 42, shared on Sept. 9 that she completed chemotherapy and appeared at her first ceremonial events around Remembrance Sunday.

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Prince Andrew didn't join the royals at the Festival of Remembrance on Nov. 9 or the Cenotaph Service on Nov. 10, Remembrance Sunday, as he is no longer holds a working role with the royal family.