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 is an admission of guilt! Even if it was carefully worded afterwards.

The Queen knew exactly what she was doing.

This should have been about Prince Philip. That is the sad thing about this story.

This as a memorial to his life and achievement, and once again it is ruined.

I think the Queen came of age in an era where subjects worshipped and didn't question royalty and she hasn't moved with the times. Twice she's chosen to publicly promote Andrew when she didn't have to. This and the recent Royal tour are cringe worthy. Time to move on from this model.

'I’m really sorry she chose to do this because it shows she really doesn’t understand the level of public disgust he evokes.'

She knows exactly what she is doing and isn’t stupid. She will of course understand the level of disgust however she clearly wants to show her support for him and what is wrong with that.

I think all this hysterical 'never let him out again!' Is crazy. He's had all patronages removed, he isn't a working royal. He escorted his elderly dm into a memorial. So what.

I totally agree with you op and think it was entirely tone deaf.

I said on the other thread that it would have been entirely possible and appropriate for the Queen to have been escorted by a member of the D of E's old regiment, once PA had slipped in and taken his seat towards the rear of the royal party, via the same side entrance. They could have been much more discreet about it. The fact that a conscious decision was made to accompany "the boss" sends out entirely the wrong message imho. And it's a message of arrogance and misogyny.

@LadyEloise1

I'm really disappointed that the Queen chose Andrew to accompany her, yet again. She has 2 other sons and a daughter and adult grandchildren who could have done the job just fine. She is sticking two fingers up to most of the rest of us.

But you are forgetting protocol that each couple had to be together. You can't have a wife or husband walk alone. Look at how it all worked. her grandchildren have children of their own and they appeared as a family, together.

There are certain conventions which may see odd to us commoners, but are part of protocol on occasions like this.

Had she 'split' a couple so one of them could have walked with her, it may have caused more comments and attention.

@Frangiblepins88

I totally agree with you op and think it was entirely tone deaf.

I said on the other thread that it would have been entirely possible and appropriate for the Queen to have been escorted by a member of the D of E's old regiment, once PA had slipped in and taken his seat towards the rear of the royal party, via the same side entrance. They could have been much more discreet about it. The fact that a conscious decision was made to accompany "the boss" sends out entirely the wrong message imho. And it's a message of arrogance and misogyny.

She might be some things but not stupid or tone deaf. Far from it.

Also if you’ll indulge a derail: does anyone else think Kate totally misdressed for this 😂 I usually rate her style but this is a bit - extremely high class Italian holiday tour??

@Blossomtoes

This was not just an old lady's private memorial for her husband, it was a public facing event

It was both. I’m really sorry she chose to do this because it shows she really doesn’t understand the level of public disgust he evokes.

Well only those who don't understand that family members attend family funerals even if they are arseholes. Convicted murderers can be escorted by officers to the funerals of close family you know. There's not morality test to attend a family funeral.

What's hideous is us perpetuating this weird family and trying to force them to live by standards literally no-one else is expected to.

@Frangiblepins88

I totally agree with you op and think it was entirely tone deaf.

I said on the other thread that it would have been entirely possible and appropriate for the Queen to have been escorted by a member of the D of E's old regiment, once PA had slipped in and taken his seat towards the rear of the royal party, via the same side entrance. They could have been much more discreet about it. The fact that a conscious decision was made to accompany "the boss" sends out entirely the wrong message imho. And it's a message of arrogance and misogyny.

How very unkind you are

I suspect that the intention was to avoid Andrew arriving with the other royals by the main entrance, which would also have had issues.

It sends out the message loud and clear that the RF do not give a rats arse about the likes of VG or victims of sexual exploitation - they are above the law and so are their children.

The message to victims of trafficking is utter indifference.

I am a huge fan of the Queen, I am extremely upset about this. I am fast becoming someone that can no longer support the RF in any capacity once she has gone. I can not stomach the idea of more of this to come for years and years, whilst we bank roll the designer dresses and luxury lifestyles and wonder how we will pay our gas bill.

@Blossom64265

He wasn’t charged with a crime. The settlement was for a civil lawsuit, not criminal.

Anyone can bring a civil suit in the US, even if they have no evidence or the case is entirely without merit. Getting those dismissed can still be incredibly expensive, so sometimes people settle even when the case is completely frivolous.

I have no idea about this case. I haven’t followed it closely. It just isn’t true that a settlement in an American civil case is remotely an admission of guilt. It is simply a practical assessment of the expense and potential negative publicity of going to trial.

This.

We have no idea what really happened. Even if he did have sex with her (for the record, I think he did), we have no idea if he knew she and the other women were trafficked.

But ultimately there was no trial and therefore nothing to be found guilty of. It was a civil lawsuit, and indeed we never even knew what she was suing him for.

He is a perfect case of trial by media, where many many people commenting have no idea what actually happened from a legal point of view.

@Swayingpalmtrees

I think some of the frothers on this thread need to realise that not everyone believes PA was guilty

Would you pay someone 12 million if you were innocent of all wrong doing? Genuine question and

If so, you are a distinct minority.

And if the RF truly believed in PA's innocence why has he been catapulted out? Banished to the shadows?
You must be one of the only people in the world who think he is innocent of all wrong doing, but it is nice he has some fans left.

Guilty of exactly what? All I’ve been able to find is that he may or may not have had sex with an adult who appeared to him to be consenting. How she came to be there now seems to have been dodgy - but that doesn’t mean he had any idea. Given the picture of them together has her beaming out of it, there doesn’t seem to be any reason for him to have thought something amiss.

He’s not had sex with a minor, and so calling him a ‘paedo’ is both inaccurate and libellous.

Yes he’s an arrogant, self absorbed creep who forgets that the ‘staff’ are human. But he does not appear to have committed any crime.

And yes, he’s best advised to settle in the current climate, both to protect his finances and to protect the monarchy. You might not like it, but given the cost of legal advice and the other pressures, he can survive a settlement with minimal harm.

It’s his dads memorial. If you don’t want to see him, don’t watch.

It's a hard one.

The Queen clearly needed physical support to get to her seat. There's a limited number of people who could be in the close physical proximity to her. From both a security and protocol perspective.

Out of her children he's the only single one. Peter Philips could have been an option, but his daughters were there and needed him to support them. Andrew's daughters both had their husbands there as well as being adults.

It also meant he didn't have a grand entrance with a meet and greet.

Regardless of what he's done though, this was his fathers memorial, he had a right to be there if he wanted to.

I have no problem with his being there @lifelast. It was always obvious he’d be there. Putting him right at the heart of it was a mistake when he could easily have arrived early and been seated discreetly.

He is her Son and it was his Fathers memorial service. Be careful what you say because you have no idea what path your children will walk down, your words may come back to haunt you.

@StationaryMagpie

i can't be mad about this.

He is the only one without a spouse/family. He didn't join the procession, he escorted his 96yo, ill, elderly mother to his fathers memorial service, and entered/exited via the side door.

In this instance, this was the best choice.. i don't think i want to see the Queen entering alone, she did that at the actual funeral.

Agree with this, his role was stripped back to escorting his very frail mum though a side entrance at his dad's memorial service.

It shows contempt for public feeling and why the monarchy are completely out of touch and archaic

This - the very public who pay for the whole antiquated charade 🤨

‘I would have a lot more respect for PA if he had actually gone to court, stood by his story and was found innocent at a trial. That would be the fair and honourable thing to do.‘

Tricky to do in civil proceedings though………

@JinglingHellsBells "....There are certain conventions which may seem odd to us commoners, but are part of protocol on occasions like this.
Had she 'split' a couple so one of them could have walked with her, it may have caused more comments and attention."

Somehow I doubt it.

I think the answer to the question ‘so what?’ is - so… people are disappointed in the RF and less likely to support them in future years. Which is a massive problem for them!

Any one of the RF could have escorted her, she chose him. It tells us everything we need to know.

The RF care about the only the RF, they think they are above everyone else and are sticking 2 fingers up.

The recent tour was a PR and marketing exercise however they ignore their customers and don't have a product many want so their organisation is failing.

Agree with those saying “Her husband, her choice”. First and foremost Prince Philip was a husband, father and grandfather within his immediate family unit. It’s a family memorial before it is a state event. I’m no fan of Prince Andrew, but he has every right to mourn his father, and support his mother.