He is the one who is presented as the favorite son of Elizabeth II. But he is controversial with each of his appearances: Andrew is hated in the United Kingdom. Like every child of the Queen, we will see him well in the procession which will accompany Buckingham’s coffin at Westminster in London, this Wednesday, September 14, 2022.
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If silence will be the rule, a few remarks could well make their appearance, like this “Andrew, you are a sick old man“, shouted by a 22-year-old Scotsman, as the funeral procession passed through the center of Edinburgh. Andrew then walked behind his mother’s coffin, surrounded by his brothers Charles andt Edward and his sister Anne. Moreover, it is quickly noticed, andrew is the only one not wearing a military uniform.
At issue: in 2019, Andrew embarrassed the royal family because of his past friendship with American financier Jeffrey Epstein, which earned him particularly serious charges since the latter, suspected of having sexually exploited minors, s committed suicide in prison. Andrew was then forced to withdraw from public life, stripped of his military titles, avoiding a trial in the United States for sexual assault thanks to an amicable agreement, paying several million euros last February to an American, a minor at the time of the events, he avoided trial across the Atlantic, he was stripped of all his military titles at the start of the year. He has also been excluded from official representations for several months.
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In 2019, however, he defended himself on the BBC: “I do not remember. I can’t, I’m racking my brains. Again and again. Nothing.“A disastrous interview, without explanation, without regret, which earned him the title of the most hated member of the royal family in the country.
By losing his mother, Andrew lost his only support. For one of her last public outings, she had come and gone on his arm, very aware of the symbol. But that’s not enough. After the funeral, he will take care of the queen’s dogs, the famous corgis, now orphans. His big brother, who became Charles III, will do without his services.