Duke of York celebrates 50th birthday

The Duke of York celebrated his 50th birthday yesterday.

Andrew, dubbed Airmiles Andy for his frequent flying, is abroad but was marking the milestone in Verbier with his ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York and their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.

The family was hosting a private celebratory dinner in the Swiss Alps ski resort.

Next Thursday, the Duke will attend a private birthday reception at Buckingham Palace for around 300 guests.

The Queen, the Duke of Edinburgh and other senior members of the Royal Family will be there, alongside representatives of the Duke's charities, patronages and military regiments.

The English National Ballet, of which Andrew is patron, will be among the acts performing in the grand palace ballroom to mark the occasion.

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie and the Duchess of York are also planning a private party for family and friends at St James's Palace the following evening.

The Duke, however, does not drink alcohol and will be sticking to his choice beverage of still water rather than champagne for his half-century celebrations. Andrew Albert Christian Edward, the third child and second son of the Queen and Prince Philip, was born at Buckingham Palace on February 19, 1960.

He arrived after a gap of almost 10 years between him and the Princess Royal and became the first child to be born to a reigning monarch for more than 100 years since Queen Victoria's last, Princess Beatrice, in 1857.

Educated at Gordonstoun in Scotland, he was sporty rather than academic and joined the Royal Navy in 1978, going on to see active service as a Sea King helicopter pilot in the Falklands War.

Along with his squadron, he sailed in HMS Invincible as part of the Task Force which went to war in the South Atlantic to regain the islands.

He wed vivacious, red-haired Sarah Ferguson on July 23 1986. Their first child Beatrice was born in 1988 and their second, Eugenie, in 1990.

But the relationship fell into trouble, not helped by the Duke's long spells away with the Navy.

The Yorks split in 1992 and divorced in 1996, but have remained good friends.

The Duke, who used to hit the headlines for making the most of his bachelor status, left the Navy at the end of July 2001 after 22 years in the service.

He took over from the Duke of Kent as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade.

But his role has triggered criticism over his use of planes and helicopters at taxpayers' expense.