Rarely have we glimpsed such a display of open hostility from a member of the Royal family.
It was clear from Prince William’s attempt to ignore Prince Andrew as he stood next to him that the heir to the throne regarded the presence of his rogue uncle as a distraction, to say the least.
This was an occasion that called for sombre reflection. The Royals had gathered to pay their respects to the Duchess of Kent, a woman who had selfessly served The Firm and the wider community – someone who, in stark contrast to Andrew, had taken her duties seriously and been immensely popular.
But it was not just the Royal family who seemed appalled.
There was an audible gasp from the public as Prince Andrew and his former wife, the Duchess of York, who has clung limpet-like to the Royal Family since their divorce almost 30 years ago, arrived with police escort at Westminster Cathedral for the service.
In a week which has seen the sacking of Britain’s US ambassador Peter Mandelson because of his associations with Jeffrey Epstein as well as press leaks suggesting Andrew figures heavily in the Epstein files which may be shortly released, everyone assumed that the troublesome Prince would be keeping a low profile.
Not least after calls just days ago from the family and the lawyer of Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre – who alleged she had been abused by the prince three times, which he denies – for Andrew to face further investigation.
Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Prince William attend the state funeral for The Duchess of Kent at Westminster Abbey
Many other members of the family did not attend. Not the Queen who has sinusitis, nor Prince Edward, who was in Papua New Guinea at events marking the 50th anniversary of independence from Australia, nor Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips.
Andrew could easily have pleaded illness too and there was no reason for Sarah Ferguson, who divorced Andrew in 1996, to still be part of the royal jamboree.
But that is to misunderstand these two individuals who have no sense of shame and cannot resist any opportunity to mix with the Royal Family because this gives them their social status and commercial appeal.
Heaven forbid that the optics might look bad, that it might overshadow a family’s private grieving, cause embarrassment to the wider Royals and simply heap more reputational damage on to the monarchy. It is always about them rather than anyone else.
For Andrew, who I note has recently put on weight, it was also a welcome break from his routine at Royal Lodge of golf, horse rides, watching videos and having massages to the sound of country music.
William, meanwhile, was ‘furious’ at being ambushed in this way, according to friends.
He has been at pains to distance himself from his uncle and not be photographed with him. He believes his father has not dealt with him with sufficient firmness and that Andrew – and Sarah Ferguson – have done much to undermine the good work of other members of the Royal Family.
Apart from concerns about reputational damage, there is also a personal element here which goes back long before the Epstein affair. Andrew is said to have been unwelcoming and rude to Kate when William was dating her – and William supposedly has never forgotten it.
King Charles, for his part, is caught in a difficult position. A courteous and forgiving man who feels Andrew and Sarah Ferguson should be included in family events, he is also acutely aware of how toxic his brother and sister-in-law are to the royal brand.
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, and Prince Andrew at the funeral on Tuesday, much to the public’s surprise
He made polite conversation with the couple, who were seated in the front row at the service, sharing a joke, even as the other members of the family – certainly in public – looked very awkward to find them there.
The King will be acutely aware of the insensitivity of Andrew’s decision to step back into the limelight at the very moment the Royal Family are being deployed as part of the country’s soft power to cosy up to President Trump on his State Visit.
The Royal Family have no wish to be reminded of their links with Epstein through Andrew given that Trump had his own associations with him.
It would have been so easy for Andrew and Sarah to have paid their respects to the Duchess of Kent more privately, but that is not in the nature of the couple.
The battle over Royal Lodge, his home in Windsor Great Park, is just one example of Andrew’s complete disregard for the institution he claims to revere. He cannot see how bad it looks for a discredited, non-working royal to live in Crown Estate property at a peppercorn rent during a cost of living crisis.
Likewise, he continues to attend lunches for Order of the Garter even though William has refused to attend if his uncle is allowed to parade in public with the other knights.
Prince William was ‘furious’ at being ambushed in this way with Prince Andrew, according to friends
But then Andrew’s whole life has been more about what the monarchy can do for him and his family than how he can serve it – and nowhere is this truer than how he used his taxpayer-funded former role as Special Representative for International Trade and Investment or the supposedly charitable Pitch@Palace to line his own pockets.
He has no sense of self-awareness and derives his whole sense of identity from his status as the second son of the late Queen. As the journalist and author Petronella Wyatt told me when I interviewed her, he genuinely believes in the Divine Right of Kings.
The Yorks have worked hard to stay within the Royal fold. Though Prince Philip would have nothing to do with Sarah Ferguson, she and Andrew had the late Queen around their little finger.
Queen Elizabeth publicly supported her son even during the most lurid Epstein headlines. After her death, Andrew lost his protector but the couple then focused on the King and his wife.
There is always the worry that the Yorks might find their own Andrew Morton to produce their memoirs, the equivalent of Morton’s Diana; Her True Story. So the King and many of the Royal Family realise they need to keep them close – even if that risks embarrassing headlines.
Whether that will continue when William takes the throne, however, is very much open to question.
Andrew Lownie is author of Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, published by HarperCollins
