The Queen passed away peacefully at her Balmoral estate in Scotland. Earlier on the day of her death, when doctors alerted the royal family about her declining health, her children and other near and dear members rushed to be by her side during her last moments.
While her children honor the Queen across the United Kingdom, it seems her son Andrew is still paying for his previous mistakes.
On Monday’s procession, as the Queen’s children walked behind her coffin, it became apparent that Prince Andrew was the odd one out. While King Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward were all in their military uniforms, the Duke of York was in civilian clothing; wearing a suit.
While the siblings saluted the Queen’s coffin during the Royal Mile, pictures seem to suggest that the Duke of York, Prince Andrew was excluded from saluting his mother’s coffin.
This not surprising as previously Prince Andrew had been stripped of his military titles following his involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal. He was stripped of all of his honorary military titles after he was linked to the sex abuse scandal related to Jeffrey Epstein.
While he did only wear his suit, his service medals were displayed upon it. King Charles has now become the Commander-in-Chief of Britain’s armed forces, while Princess Anne holds the highest honorary ranks in the British Army, Royal Air Force and Royal Navy and the youngest of the Queen’s children, Prince Edward has senior titles in the Army, RAF and Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
In just January this year, it was decided that Andrew would be stripped of his honors from the armed forced. He payed millions of dollars to settle the sexual assault case against him by Virginia Giuffre. He publicly denied all claims of knowing Giuffre, saying he had never even met the girl.
However, instead of taking the case to court, he settled the civil suit out of court for millions of dollars.
The now 62-year-old has served in the Falklands War as an officer in the Royal Navy. He still retains his rank as a Vice Admiral.
Queen Elizabeth’s body was carried from the Palace of Holyroodhouse to St Giles’ Cathedral, where it was kept for public viewing for well-wishers to pay their respects.
People traveled from all over the country to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth, some even queuing for over seven hours for a glimpse.
Her children Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward all stood guard at her coffin, in a traditional ceremony which is known as Vigil of the Princes.
During the vigil, Andrew had his eyes closed for a considerable amount of time during the 10-minute routine. His siblings, however, were looking toward the floor.
It is said that during the Vigil of the Princes at Westminister Hall this week, he might be allowed to wear his military uniform.
During the procession, there were some who heckled Andrew, taking issue with the accusations of sexual abuse of a minor leveled against him. A man shouted at him, ‘Andrew, you’re a sick old man’.
Outraged mourners helped the police in apprehending the heckler. Police later confirmed that a 22-year-old man was indeed arrested for breaching the peace during the royal mile.
While after his involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein case came to light, Andrew rarely made public appearances, it is expected that he will be attending all events during the national period of mourning.
What do you think of Andrew being kept somewhat at bay during the time of mourning ? Let us know in the comment section!
