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Prince Andrew deserved to attend Prince Philip tribute and it was Queen’s responsibility as a mother to facilitate his wish, indicates expert.
The 95-year-old monarch, who arrived hand-in-hand with the Duke of York for Prince Philip’s thanksgiving, sparked fury amongst royal admirers for bringing her shamed son at the forefront.
Commentator Victoria Arbiter talks about the public reaction and everything that came later in a column for Australian site 9Honey.
“[The Queen] unleashed a wave of fury when she arrived on Prince Andrew’s arm for the Service of Thanksgiving in honour of Prince Philip.
“Fuelled in part by a band of online trolls unwilling to allow her one iota of relief, her actions arguably elicited worldwide scorn and the condemnation that followed was loud and extreme.”
She notes that Andrew’s attendance “was always going to be controversial.”
She wrote: “Though the court of public opinion has deemed him morally corrupt, he’s still innocent in the eyes of the law even after paying a reported £12 million (approx. $21 million) to settle his case with Virginia Giuffre.”
“In truth, Andrew had every right to attend his father’s memorial and if the Queen wanted him by her side, then so be it.
“Short of breathing, she’s quite rightly stripped him of almost every royal privilege known to princely men, but she’s clearly not prepared to denounce him as her son.”
Prince Andrew was stripped of royal patronages and military titles in January. The Duke came under fire for allegedly sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre at the age of 17.