Prince Andrew, brother of Charles III, arrived at Westminster Abbey in a black and official car was booed by the people who flocked to the place to attend the coronation of the King.
Andrés de York left Buckingham Palace this Saturday morning to attend his brother’s coronation ceremony, and it was at that moment that the protesters who packed The Mall Avenue did not hesitate to express their rejection of Queen Elizabeth II’s most controversial son .
King Carlos wanted to avoid any kind of controversy and preferred his brother Andrés not perform any special function during the ceremony, nor his youngest son, Harry.
Both Andrés and Harry entered Westminster Abbey at around 11.40am, accompanied by the Duke of York’s daughters Eugenia and Beatriz. Both had a purely testimonial role, and were trained in third row.
After attending the coronation, the controversial prince did not walk behind the royal couple in the procession back to Buckingham Palace after the ceremony.
Nor has he appeared on the balcony for the traditional royal greeting, although the Palace has not specified who will accompany Carlos III and Queen Camila for the occasion.
Andrés is used to keeping a low profile. Indeed, at the beginning of 2022 the queen Elizabeth II barred him from official public appearances and stripped him of his military titles after allegations of sexual assault in the United States against a 17-year-old girl, a case he settled with a financial settlement.
His appearance shortly afterwards on the Queen’s arm, escorting her to Westminster Abbey for a tribute service for her father Prince Philip, who had died the previous year, attracted strong criticism. Among these, one of the most violent was that of a man who shouted “sick old man” at him, forcing the authorities to intervene to end the climate of tension that had arisen.
Last year Andrés attended the funeral procession of Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September, but has actually parted ways with the official duties of the British royal family, after falling on hard times over allegations of sexual assault of a minor.
At this Saturday’s ceremony, Andrés’ boos weren’t the only controversy: there were also six anti-monarchist activists arrested for a protest in Trafalgar Square at 7:30 in the morning, according to The Guardian.
The activist group called ‘Republic’ seeks to replace the monarch with an elected head of state and holds a protest this Saturday under the slogan ‘Not MyKing’ (Not My King).
Epstein case: the fact that sparked the scandal in the British Crown
Less than two years ago, the American Virginia Giuffre has accused Prince Andrew of abusing her when she was a minor as part of a large sex trafficking ring by financier Jeffrey Epstein between 1999 and 2002.
This denunciation revived the case, which was particularly painful for the British monarchy. This forced Andrés to withdraw from public life. Epstein was jailed over the allegations.
In the lawsuit, Giuffre says the Duke of York was one of the powerful men to whom “it was given for sexual purposes”. Finally, in 2022 it became known that Andrés reached an out-of-court settlement with Virginia for the lawsuit against him in the United States.
No details of the deal were disclosed, but it was detailed that the prince would be making a “substantial donation to Mrs Giuffre’s charity”.
Source: Clarin
Mary Ortiz is a seasoned journalist with a passion for world events. As a writer for News Rebeat, she brings a fresh perspective to the latest global happenings and provides in-depth coverage that offers a deeper understanding of the world around us.