Prince Andrew reportedly hopes that presenting himself at his father’s funeral as a dutiful son and distinguished military veteran will make the British public forget his scandalous friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and allow him to return to public life.
Andrew has been creating drama at Buckingham Palace this week over his efforts to use the televised service for Prince Philip to win public sympathy, The Sun reported. The Duke of Edinburgh died last week at age 99.
A source close to Andrew told the Daily Mail columnist Dan Wooton: “He still harbors thoughts that he can make a comeback. He genuinely thinks that’s possible.”
But Andrew’s older brother, heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, has said no comeback is possible while Andrew still faces questions about his association with Epstein and accusations that he had sex with one of the teen girls the late registered sex offender allegedly trafficked to his rich friends.
“Prince Andrew might hope that this sad situation changes things, but Prince Charles is adamant there is no way back while allegations hang over him,” the royal source told Wooton.
Andrew has been out of the public eye since November 2019 when his mother, Queen Elizabeth — reportedly at the urging of Charles — asked him to step back from royal duties. The move to banish Andrew to “royal exile” came after he gave a disastrous TV interview, during which he justified his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in August 2019 in a Manhattan jail.
The Duke of York offered bizarre, easily debunked explanations for why he couldn’t have had sex Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of Epstein’s alleged victims, in 2001. Andrew also expressed no sympathy for any of Epstein’s alleged victims and claimed he was willing to co-operate with U.S. federal authorities investigating Epstein’s reported sex trafficking operation — but he has so far failed to do so.
On Wednesday, the Daily Mail also reported that Andrew, long said to be the queen’s favorite child, has asked for permission to dress as a full admiral when he attends Philip’s service Saturday at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.
Andrew, a navy veteran of the Falklands War, was made an honorary vice admiral in the Royal Navy on his 55th birthday in 2015, and was due to be promoted to admiral on his 60th birthday last year, the Daily Mail said. But he offered to defer that honor until he cleared his name and returned to public duties — neither of which has happened.
Andrew’s request about his military dress Saturday also comes as the royal family deals with the dilemma of Prince Harry possibly being the only senior male royal to not wear a uniform at the funeral. Harry spent 10 years in the army and served in Afghanistan but was stripped of his honorary military titles after he and his wife Meghan Markle stepped away from royal duties last year.
Andrew first raised concerns about his image-makeover intentions on Sunday when he “made a beeline” to cameras to issue an off-the-cuff interview about his father, the Daily Beast reported. He had just left a church service with his brother, Prince Edward. It was the first time he had given an interview since his “car crash” interview about Epstein.
“Andrew now appears to be using his father’s death to crawl out from under the rock of royal exile,” the Daily Beast said.
Andrew’s interview Sunday showed that he “has clearly missed his media appearances,” as he went “on and on” about his father, the Daily Beast said.
Prince Andrew says the Queen described the passing of the Duke of Edinburgh as having "left a huge void" in her life, and says the royal family is "rallying round to make sure that we're there to support her"
Read more here: https://t.co/zv6NRoO98E pic.twitter.com/FA2CRy7y3b
— Sky News (@SkyNews) April 11, 2021
Andrew said very nice things about his father, explaining that Britons had lost “the grandfather of the nation.” He said, “I loved him as a father. He was so calm.”
The Daily Beast also noted that Andrew was careful to suggest that his father’s death had helped connect him to “the proletariat,” when he said it “brought it home to me not just our loss but actually the loss that everybody else has felt, for so many people who have died and lost loved ones during the pandemic.”
But Andrew may have crossed a line by revealing what his very tight-lipped mother has said about losing her husband of 73 years, the Daily Beast said.
“She described it as having left a huge void in her life,” Andrew said.
Andrew’s comments around his mother’s grief made headlines around the world. It also gave the impression that he had been given permission to speak and that Charles and other royal officials had changed their mind about keeping him in the background, the Daily Beast reported.
“Had Charles had a change of heart?” the Daily Beast asked. “It seemed incredible, but was Andrew back on his way inside the charmed circle?”
But it appears not, the Daily Beast said. On Monday, royal officials began insisting to reporters that Andrew “spoke on camera in a private capacity because this is a family event. No one can stop him doing that.”