On a day to remember a lost loved one, the Queen ’s decision to have Andrew by her side at Prince Philip’s memorial was a slap in the face for the country and a poke in the eye for her family.
Behind Prince Charles’s stiff upper lip, his teeth must have clenched to see his dignified and revered mother leaning on the boorish brother who mired the royal family in a sex scandal.
Prince William, fresh from crisis talks with aides following backlash from his Caribbean tour, perhaps wondered if there was any point in working so hard to modernise the monarchy when his efforts were so easily undone.
Andrew had every right to attend his father’s memorial, of course. But was it right that he should be at the forefront of the poignant and public proceedings? Other members of the royal family, according to sources, believe not.
No matter how forcefully they tried to dissuade the Queen from plucking her disgraced son from the shadows - and let’s not forget Princess Anne’s famously direct nature - favouritism for her second son seems to have reigned over their disapproval and disdain.
Few understand why Andrew is notoriously her favourite child yet fewer question it truly is the case. In the acclaimed Netflix series The Crown, Philip admitted Anne was his favoured child so the Queen invited each to lunch as a series of tests to discover hers.
Although she realised all four had dislikable traits, at least Andrew had a sense of humour as he made fart jokes and guffawed at his playboy ways.
And while it might be fiction, there’s little doubt there’s at least an element of truth to Andrew having the Queen’s favour.
Royal commentators believe the 12-year gap between Anne and Andrew is remembered as a particularly happy time for Her Majesty, when she rediscovered happiness in her marriage and stepped back from royal duties to spend more time with her young son.
Certainly she seems quick to forgive his catastrophes and connection with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. Even after Virginia Giuffre’s shocking accusations of rape and his disastrous Newsnight interview which forced him to step back from total duties, Andrew, 62, is said to have been the Queen’s rock during Prince Harry and Meghan’s exit from the royal stage.
Reports that Andrew ripped up the carefully choreographed plan to step aside at the abbey’s entrance to ensure his mother walked down the aisle with the Dean of Westminster suggest he has not tempered his trademark arrogance. Instead, he clung to her arm of the woman who bailed him out of debt much to the chagrin of his siblings.
In the car beside the Queen, Andrew had the audacity to wave at his family. He may as well have thumbed his nose.
