After settling his rape lawsuit with Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Prince Andrew made his first public appearance at Prince Philip's memorial service. However, many feel disturbed to see him escorting Queen Elizabeth II, which reportedly caused a row within the royal family.
Queen Elizabeth seemed to have given Prince Andrew an important role at Prince Philip's memorial service. However, it looks like Her Majesty's decision does not sit right with other senior members of the royal family, especially Prince Charles and Prince William.
Express reported a number of senior royals had reservations about the idea of putting the Duke of York at the front and center of the event. It is not just an important happening in the royal family, but it is also televised and seen all over the world.
Originally, he was supposed to enter Westminster Abbey with his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, together with their husbands, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi and Jack Brooksbank, following the Order of Service. However, it was changed at the last minute.
Instead, Prince Andrew traveled in from Windsor with his mother, changed cars at Buckingham Palace and arrived at Westminster Abbey through the state limousine. He, then, walked Queen Elizabeth through the side entrance.
In this scene, the royal family was said to be "horrified" to see the Queen was accompanied by her troubled son. Prince Charles and Prince William, allegedly, voiced their concerns with this plan.
However, the royal family still respected Queen Elizabeth's decision. She already decided to suspend his son's royal duties in November 2019 and strip him of all his royal responsibilities in January for the sake of the monarchy.
But many could not help but think Prince Andrew should not have been given a major role. "It's a shame that something that was meant to be a celebration of his father has had a shadow cast over it," one source said.
Even the survivors of Jeffrey Epstein's sex-trafficking scheme and their lawyers did not like what happened, per The Daily Beast. One of the victims, Juliette Bryant, said Prince Andrew's public appearance after the settlement and his mother's decision to escort her was a "slap in the face" to the survivors.
She added it was not just an insult to them but an "insult towards humanity." She, then, accused them of feeling nothing for all the pain they had caused and always doing what they pleased.
Maria Farmer, another survivor, added Queen Elizabeth's decision to make Prince Andrew her squire was "terribly insulting." It even made them feel that they were "normalizing" the sexual abuse of which the prince had been accused.
Buckingham Palace refused to comment on the issue, but the royal sources stressed it had been cleared that Prince Andrew could join family occasions. As Prince Philip's memorial service was a family occasion, he was allowed to accompany Queen Elizabeth.
