Who advised the Queen to walk into the Abbey escorted by Andrew??

[TinyTortoise]

This seems to be the most tone deaf and damaging decision. It's a public facing event with international leaders and royals. If it was a closed family gathering I could understand it - he is her son still- but why on earth would they allow him to escort her to her seat?! He should be invisible from now on and never represent the RF again. He could have attended and stood somewhere out of the way. She could have chosen anyone to escort her. It's staggeringly awful!

It’s right that he was there. He is the son of the deceased and his widow and it was their memorial service.

If the queen wanted him there, she had every right to have him there. I’m happy that for the first time in her public life she’s done what was right for her instead of putting public opinion first.

@DingleyDel

She clearly doesn’t care. I think it’s sending a message that she still stands by him. Unfortunately I’ve lost all respect I had for the Queen after this whole debacle.

I totally agree.

Maybe they did it to see how the great unwashed reacted to Andrew taking a major part in the service today

Yes, I'd be quite prepared to believe that, given the RF's record of kite flying and well placed "leaks". A crafty way to do it too, since the "grieving Queen" thing will always deflect some of the flak

Too bad there's been so much negative attention around it, though whether HM will give a stuff is anyone's guess

You do realise what Andrew did?

This won't suit the majority but what has he been found guilty of? Who has given verified evidence against him? Just because something is said doesn't make it true bit it seems that those who make statements which match an agenda are always believed, regardless.
Having worked and lived in military circles I knew a number of people who had worked with him and didn't have a good word to say about him and he comes over as being a pompous buffoon but the laws of evidence seem to have been ditched when it's convenient.

I believe he did sleep with her

You believe he 'slept' with her? I thought it was sex. A 42 year old man fucking a trafficked teenager. But hey ho.

To be pedantic, the women he is alleged to have sex with had reached puberty, so he is not a paedophile, & she was over the age of consent in this country. Nor were the sex trafficking laws in place at the time of the alleged offence.

A self-serving, arrogant, entitled letch would be a reasonable description, but not a paedophile.

@BlanketsBanned

He was helping his elderly mum, they walked in the short route away from the main route, its their business, not ours and he was not there representing the RF.

Exactly. It was actually an ideal solution, it made sure that HM had a member of the family to accompanty her to her seat and it meant that he didn't get to walk in the front door and down the long aisle. It was interesting that there was hardly any shots of him during the service, only when he was supporting his mother and that none of the other family members were seen to speak to him.

I don't think anyone on here has objected to PA being present. It's the fact that the monarch has, on quite a few occasions now, chosen to have him accompany her to her seat, or to church and other locations, after he has knowingly associated with a convicted pedophile and has had to pay €12 million dollars to settle an allegation of sexual abuse. It's really not a good look! I just don't see why people on here can't understand that!

If you were a victim of abuse, how would you feel watching it?

Normally I'd agree, but it's a memorial for her husband, his father, I think they're entitled on this occasion to be a family first and think of public image second.

It was actually an ideal solution, it made sure that HM had a member of the family to accompanty her to her seat and it meant that he didn't get to walk in the front door and down the long aisle.

Yes, ideal that there’s footage of him right next to the queen. I’m thrilled with that image going across the world.

I’ve been a republican for years but always respected the queen. Not any more.

Yes this was a very bad look and I was surprised.

But if you have been installed by God to rule over the plebs you can do no wrong, so who am I to judge?

Fact is without a conviction he can do what he likes same as every other "accused but not convicted" man out there

And there victims no doubt have to see them daily

@ParkheadParadise

Today she was letting you all know that the Dirty Bastard will be out with the family celebrating her jubilee later on this year.

Rubbish

She was showing that he’s still her son and she still supports him as most mothers would.

@SpinningTheSeedsOfLove

I believe he did sleep with her

You believe he 'slept' with her? I thought it was sex. A 42 year old man fucking a trafficked teenager. But hey ho.

He has denied the allegation & it hasn’t been proved in a criminal court that he knew she was trafficked & if he did have sex with her. If you were accused of something would you wish to be tried by media or by the court? I know which I’d prefer.

@Lennybenny

Because he was accused not convicted. He's her son.

There was a bit more to it than that. You make it sound as if he wasn't convicted because he was innocent.

If you were a victim of abuse, how would you feel watching it?

Personally, I feel my abuse is irrelevant to this situation. Considering how many women have been the victim of some kind of sexual assault or abuse, and that opinion seems to very divided on this, I’d guess that some other women also feel that their abuse is irrelevant too.

It was Prince Phillips memorial service, so Prince Philips family all being there together is far more important than some strangers who might watch it on telly.

@FairyCakeWings

If you were a victim of abuse, how would you feel watching it?

Personally, I feel my abuse is irrelevant to this situation. Considering how many women have been the victim of some kind of sexual assault or abuse, and that opinion seems to very divided on this, I’d guess that some other women also feel that their abuse is irrelevant too.

It was Prince Phillips memorial service, so Prince Philips family all being there together is far more important than some strangers who might watch it on telly.

So they didn’t have to make it a public event.

@UniversalAunt

To be pedantic, the women he is alleged to have sex with had reached puberty, so he is not a paedophile, & she was over the age of consent in this country. Nor were the sex trafficking laws in place at the time of the alleged offence.

A self-serving, arrogant, entitled letch would be a reasonable description, but not a paedophile.

The point is Prince Andrew went to visit Epstein in NY and were photographed together in Central Park in 2010 after JE had been convicted of pedophilia.

"In 2008, Epstein pleaded guilty to a felony charge of solicitation of prostitution involving a minor, and was sentenced to 18 months in prison; he served 13, and was granted work release, which allowed him to commute to an office outside the jail six days a week. He also registered as a sex offender."

www.townandcountrymag.com/society/money-and-power/a28352055/jeffrey-epstein-criminal-case-facts/

@Bignanny30

She was showing that he’s still her son and she still supports him as most mothers would.

No as the head of state she's showing the world that the firm of the royal family can do whatever they hell they like. He should never ever have a prominent role in public again. She's going to do the same she did when Diana died ... Alienate the public

I’ve acted for bank robbers, persons who’ve viciously assaulted & one I particularly remember a fraudster on his second or third offence. Their mothers generally believed them to be innocent. The fraudsters mama believing he’d been set up lots of times & it wasn’t really him.

I can quite believe the queen thinks he’s done no wrong whatever we the public think.

Why shouldn’t they make it a public event? PP was a public person and the event had public relevance.

@LittleGwyneth

He is still her son. It was a memorial for her husband. You don't stop loving your child because they did something bad.

I would be broken by my child doing this 'bad', because yes, you don't stop loving them. - I certainly wouldn't support them, publicly or otherwise.

MissMarpleRocks I entirely agree that no competent lawyer would have failed to advise an English Prince to settle rather than take the risks of the prejudices, and perhaps bias, of an American jury with no limits on the amount they could award out of all proportion to the damage or loss suffered - remember the hot cup of coffee case anybody? Thjey chose to settle t ta strategically sound moment when it was clear that the Claimant was unable to produce the original of the photograph which has been so much reproduced. there has bene little comment about that on here but I find it amazing that it could not be produced for forensic examination. Surely if it was genuine any Claimant would have guarded it with her life and, certainly, any competent English lawyer would have wanted to see it and have it checked out at a very early stage of the claim before making allegations of the sort which were made.
Whether the claim against Prince Andrew was true or not I have no idea and the settlement only tells me, as a lawyer, that he was well advised. I do know that there has been a lot of assumption and exaggeration. As others have commented whilst Prince Andrew was guilty of very bad judgment in his friend and in his interview, he was not, on any view, personally guilty of paedophilia or sex abuse of under-age girls. It may well be if he had had more intelligence and imagination he would not have got into this mess - equally he might well not have been able to fly decoy helicopters over the Fleet in the Falklands - an act of courage which most of his detractors would never be capable of doing.

@FairyCakeWings

Why shouldn’t they make it a public event? PP was a public person and the event had public relevance.

I was talking about Andrew being there in a very visible way. One way they could have avoided that but still all be there was to make it a closed service.