Queen arrives at Prince Philip's memorial with Prince Andrew

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The Queen has sparked a major debate after being pictured being walked up the aisle of Westminster Abbey by her second-born son, Prince Andrew, at Prince Philip’s thanksgiving service. The event marked the first time in nearly a year the Duke of York was spotted attending a public family event since the funeral of the Duke of York, and the first since settling his case with accuser Virginia Giuffre in February. Royal expert Katie Nicholl suggested the decision to have Andrew walk her sent a double message to the world and senior Royal Family members like Prince Charles and Prince William.

Speaking to True Royalty’s The Royal Beat, Ms Nicholl said: “They knew the result of this… this was the Queen’s way of showing two things.

“One, that the buck stops with her, and she makes the decisions, and secondly that she believes he’s innocent.

“She made the point very, very clearly.”

She continued: “But Charles and William were very aware of the perspective, of the optics of this.

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“Unfortunately, this picture [of Prince Andrew escorting the Queen] has overtaken what should have been a memorial to a great man.”

Prince Andrew has effectively stepped down from all duties after a disastrous interview with BBC Newsnight in 2019.

And earlier this year, the Queen announced the Duke of York had been stripped of all his patronages and his honourary military honours in light of the backlash his legal battle with Giuffre generated.

The pair came to an out-of-court agreement in February, with Andrew continuing to maintain his estrangement from all accusations moved against him.

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Daily Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers told the podcast Pod Save The Queen that both Prince Charles and Prince William delivered “some kickback” against Andrew’s entering the Abbey with the Queen.

Mr Myers said: “You’re not just a mother. You’re not just sons.

“You are the monarch and they are representatives of the Royal Family, especially when you’ve got two future kings there, who are already delivering some kickback.

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“That’s my understanding, as the Queen overruled Charles and William and she said, ‘this is the way that I want it,’ and I think that really hammers home who is the boss.”

He added: “If it was ever in doubt that the Queen is the boss of the family ‒ she is the one who made that decision.”

A source told the Daily Mirror this week: “Both the Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge reluctantly accepted that he [Prince Andrew] would travel with the Queen to the Abbey as they both live in Windsor.

“It was arguably palatable if simply down to logistics, but it goes without saying that most of the family were absolutely dismayed to see him walking the Queen up the aisle in full view of the entire congregation and broadcast cameras.”

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