Yet another incident caught the eye of social media users, regarding the UK Royal Family’s Prince Andrew (Queen Elizabeth II’s son), who is forever on public display, whether he likes it or not.
During Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral procession in Scotland, a man yelled swear words and insults at Prince Andrew, then two other men attacked the shouting man and knocked him down.
All three men were arrested by police.
Authorities launched an inquiry into what happened at Edinburgh’s Royal Mile as Prince Andrew was walking behind his mother’s coffin. The incident, which was recorded on video, took place on the afternoon of 12 September.
The video was widely shared on social media, and showed the 22-year-old demonstrator yelling at Prince Andrew, calling him “a sick old man,” due to allegations of sexual abuse that have been made against him. Two other men are seen pushing the 22-year-old to the pavement following his rant. The young man who ridiculed the Prince was arrested and charged with disturbing the peace.
Prince Andrew, unlike his siblings, was not allowed to wear military uniform, as he is not a working member of the Royal Family. Instead of military dress, he wore a suit.
Prince Andrew, who still holds the title of Duke of York, retired from his royal duties in 2019 due to allegations of sexual abuse. In 2014, Virginia Giuffre accused Prince Andrew and a number of other men of sexually assaulting her. She claimed Prince Andrew had sexual relations with her on three separate occasions while she was a minor.
Although Andrew denied the allegations made against him, he decided to settle with Giuffre out of court before a sex abuse trial could be held. The settlement was for $13.55 million, which was reportedly donated by Giuffre to charities that assist victims of sexual assault. Many people, including some former staff for the Royal Family, have confirmed Giuffre’s allegations about Prince Andrew, as well as stories linking him to sexual traffickers.
In January 2022, the late Queen Elizabeth II stripped her son, then aged 61, of all his royal patronage and military connections. The patronages were returned to the Queen for distribution among the rest of the Royal Family. Prince Andrew was demoted to the bottom of the Palace’s website on a hierarchy list of the Royal Family. Andrew will have to defend himself in any future lawsuits or sexual abuse cases as a private citizen, because the monarchy seeks to distance itself from his alleged actions.