The Duke of York's appearance at the thanksgiving service for the late King Constantine of Greece on Tuesday sparked criticism.
From the photographs, Prince Andrew, 64, looked as though he was leading members of the British royal family walking from Windsor Castle to St George's Chapel.
However, it's understood that the disgraced Duke was not officially leading the Windsors but because the order of precedence was in reverse order of seniority, as seen at events such as the Easter Sunday service and Commonwealth Day.
Andrew arrived at the service alongside his former wife, Sarah, Duchess of York, followed by other non-working royals, Mike and Zara Tindall, and Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi.
The Princess Royal arrived last in the group of the royals who walked to church, with Queen Camilla travelling by car.
King Charles, the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh were all absent from the service.
© GettyPrince William, who pulled out of attending the memorial last-minute due to a "personal matter" would have walked behind his aunt Princess Anne, with the Queen taking the most senior position last.
It's understood that the disgraced Duke of York attended the thanksgiving service in a personal capacity because it was not an official public event.
Andrew has only made a handful of public appearances since stepping back as a senior royal in November 2019, following his TV interview with BBC Newsnight, which focused on his connections to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
© GettyIn February 2022, the Duke reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre, after she sued him claiming she was trafficked by Epstein to have sex with the royal when she was 17 and a minor under US law. The Prince has vehemently denied the allegations.
Queen Elizabeth II stripped her son Andrew of his honorary military roles and he lost the use of his HRH style in an official capacity in January 2022.
Andrew, who is the father of Princess Beatrice, 34, and Princess Eugenie, 33, was last seen publicly with the royal family on Christmas Day in Sandringham.
© GettyLast year, he also attended King Charles' coronation and the Easter Sunday service in Windsor.
The Duke resides at Royal Lodge in Windsor with his ex-wife Sarah, who learned of her skin cancer diagnosis in January.
© GettyThe Duchess, 64, urged her social media followers "be diligent with their health checkups" in a personal Instagram post last week.
"I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023 and melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer, this year and had it not been for the diligence and care of my physicians, my situation could have been so much worse," Sarah wrote. "It was a busy 2023 and I almost put off my routine mammogram, but my sister Jane convinced me to go. After undergoing a mastectomy and reconstruction, I could only hope that I was in the clear, which is why a new diagnosis of skin cancer came as a shock."
The author added that she was "now in the best hands and feeling positive with the support of my family".
Andrew and Sarah are grandparents to Princess Beatrice and Edoardo's daughter, Sienna, two, and Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank's sons, August, three, and Ernest, who turns one in May.
LOVE THE ROYALS? JOIN THE CLUB!
If you are reading this, the chances are you are obsessed with all things royalty – which is just as well because so are we! So obsessed, in fact, we’ve launched a club solely dedicated to covering them. So welcome to The HELLO! Royal Club. We would love you to join us there…
What is it?
Interactive community offering behind-the-scenes access, exclusive royal interviews, unmissable royal insights, and an illustrious royal Inner Circle.
Member benefits
- Two weekly newsletters, one from Emily Nash
- Video posts and audio notes from Emily Nash and the HELLO! Royal team
- Access to our royal community and opportunity to interact with club writers and members
- Participate in polls, comments and discussion threads
- Access to our Ask Me Anything sessions with our journalists
- Invitations to in-person and virtual events
- A subscription to the digital edition of HELLO! Magazine (Worth £82 annually)*
- Future ‘Inner Circle’ benefits
By royal decree
You are royally invited to join The HELLO! Royal Club – and then to go forth and spread the word to your fellow royal fans. See you in the club!
