Queen Elizabeth arrived on the arm of Prince Andrew for Tuesday’s grand memorial to her late husband, Prince Philip, in an extraordinarily defiant show of support for her disgraced son.
There had been fears that the 95-year-old monarch, whose health has deteriorated since Philip’s death last June, would be too unwell to join her family at the service because of reported mobility issues.
But she was surprising sprightly as she walked down the aisle of Westminster Abbey, carrying a walking stick in her right hand and holding onto Andrew’s arm with the other. The two had traveled together in the royal Bentley from Windsor Castle, to the west of London, where Andrew—virtually cast out from the royal family for his links to the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein—also has a residence.
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It was Andrew’s first public appearance since settling his abuse case with Virginia Giuffre-Roberts and confirms once again the special affection the queen has for her “favorite” son, despite the fact that he is no longer a serving royal and has had to say goodbye to his cherished military titles. She even helped pay for the eight-figure payoff Giuffre is said to have won from the prince.
Westminster Abbey is where the young Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip of Greece, as they were then titled, married on Nov. 20, 1947. It was also due to host his funeral, which was held instead at Windsor Castle because of the pandemic—with a masked Elizabeth sitting alone on a bench to comply with government coronavirus restrictions.
Joining her at the Abbey were Andrew and his three siblings, Charles, Edward and Anne. The queen’s grandchildren were there there too, with the notable exception of Prince Harry, now estranged from the royal family after his marriage to Meghan Markle.
The couple, who style themselves as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex although they are no longer royals, have decided to stay home in Montecito, California, for “security” reasons while Harry fights a legal battle against the government to have his royal bodyguards reinstated on his visits to the U.K.
Also attending the memorial service were no fewer than 51 members of Philip’s family and a Who’s Who of European royalty, including the King and Queen of the Belgians, the King and Queen of the Netherlands, Prince Albert of Monaco and various ex-royals from the Balkans. The only major European monarch missing was King Harald of Norway, who had to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19.
Over his seven decades as a working royal, Philip made a total of 22,219 solo appearances, 637 overseas visits, and gave 5,500 speeches. He is said to have shaken more hands than anyone else on the plant—with the possible exception of Elizabeth herself—and met no fewer than 13 U.S. presidents.
He also supported more than 700 charities, largely in the field of conservation and wildlife protection, and set up the pioneering Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme, encouraging confidence and team-building in young people.
Read it at Sky News
