Prince Andrew has been popular in headlines the past couple of years but shrouded in controversy.
Earlier this week, Prince Andrew attended Prince Philip’s memorial service on the arm of Queen Elizabeth, much to the surprise of many royal insiders and the general public alike.
His public appearance with the Queen comes shortly after he settled a sexual assault lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre. Giuffre claims that she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew when she was only 17, under Jeffrey Epstein’s orders.
Prince Andrew faced backlash after insiders believe he made Philip’s ceremony about himself and stole the attention away from the memorial service, essentially dishonoring Philip’s memory.
Insiders believe Prince Andrew hijacked Prince Philip’s memorial service
Royal insiders believe that Andrew was intent on playing a large role at Philip’s memorial service.
Daily Mail reports that Andrew arrived with the Queen, apparently clinging to her arm and refusing to allow the Dean of Westminster to lead her upon entering the Abbey.
Andrew walked the Queen over to her seat instead, allowing all guests and media members to see him there and forcing the Dean to lead the pair across the Abbey. Andrew was expected to walk behind them based on previous plans.
Some believe that this was an attempt by Andrew to try to get back into the spotlight of the royal family and that he is trying to return to public life. He may be trying to slowly re-enter the public eye to try to make an appearance at the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June.
However, Andrew was stripped of his military hours and royal patronages following his lawsuit settlement. Although he denies being guilty and stands by his innocence, Charles reportedly told him to “disappear” from the public eye.
At Philip’s memorial, sources say his siblings were upset by his display and wanted him to stand back. They reportedly did not want him to walk her down the aisle, but some say that Queen Elizabeth “couldn’t say no to her favorite son.”
Apparently, Andrew was insistent on walking her as he has spent more time with her at Windsor while other members of the royal family were focusing on their official duties. Charles and Camilla have seemingly ignored the backlash and have opted to continue as normal with their royal duties this week.
Prince Charles and Camilla ignore Prince Andrew backlash, attend Meta office opening
Prince Charles and Camilla attended the opening ceremony for the new Meta offices and were given a tour of the new building before it was officially opened.
Charles and Camilla got to see many different pieces of technology throughout their visit, such as virtual reality headsets. The Meta team discussed the work that they’re doing to support the people of Ukraine during their visit as well.
Photos from their visit were shared on their official Instagram account, where they wrote that they got to see the Community Help feature, a feature that’s operating in Ukraine and neighboring countries to help Ukraine citizens.
Charles was able to speak with administrates of group administrators in Poland who connect to Ukrainian refugees and help them with resources such as transportation, clothing, and medication.
They also discussed some of Meta’s processes used to remove harmful information and content from their websites.
It appears that Charles and Camilla put aside the backlash that was caused by Andrew’s appearance at Prince Philip’s memorial to attend their royal duties and may be trying to put the event behind them.