Prince Andrew joins the Queen’s procession amidst understudy concerns.prince andrew

The Duke of York wore a string of civilian morning suits as he took part in the procession behind the Queen’s coffin amid claims British authorities had shielded him from US prosecutors investigating his ties to a sex offender. showed off his military medal. Jeffrey Epstein.

Prince Andrew has been told that he will not be able to wear military uniforms at events commemorating the Queen’s passing.

The royal family, now eighth in line to the throne, was stripped of his military patronage and use of the HRH title. Paid financial settlement to Virginia Giuffreaccused him of sexual assault, which he denied.

New reports linked to the scandal have emerged from the United States as the Duke followed his mother’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall on Wednesday.

Former U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Berman, who was leading the investigation, said: claims in a book published Tuesday US prosecutors enthusiastically told Andrew about his friendship with billionaire investor Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. sentenced to 20 years in prison On sex trafficking charges in New York in June.

“He has publicly stated that he will cooperate with the investigation, and we intended to give him the opportunity to fulfill his promise,” Berman wrote.

But Andrew “continued to profess to be cooperating with Epstein’s investigation,” which “wasn’t true,” Berman writes.

After battling with lawyers, prosecutors tried to coerce the crown prince into cooperating, using a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty request through the U.S. State Department, Berman said.

“But that was not the case with Prince Andrew,” he wrote. “We didn’t go anywhere. Were they guarding him? I think someone was.”

Andrew’s attorneys dismissed US accusations that Andrew was not cooperating with the investigation. In 2020, his Blackfords, a London-based criminal law expert, argued in a two-page, strongly-worded statement. The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has effectively rejected three voluntary offers of help from the crown prince.

Twitter users, meanwhile, expressed their distrust that the Duke of York would continue to be a state adviser, effectively an official stand-in if the monarch was unable to perform his duties.

King Charles and Prince William represented the Queen at the opening of the last state legislature due to her mobility problems at the time, but state counselors are rarely called upon.

King Charles does not appoint an adviser to the throne, but by law it must include the King’s consort and the next four heirs to the throne who are at least 21 years of age.

This meant that Princess Beatrice, the Duke of York’s daughter, became Counselor of State.

Many questioned why the law could not be rewritten to increase the freedom of choice for State Counselors so that Andrew could be stripped of the role and Princess Anne could intervene.

Anne is unable to do this because, when she was born, the male heir was first entitled to the throne over the female. This is the rule known as male succession to the throne.

In 2013, a new law, the Succession to the Throne Act, abolished this and gave women equal rights to men. This law applies to people born on or after October 28, 2011. Ann, 72, misses out because the law is not retroactive.

Royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told The Guardian:

“There are good reasons for the change. It’s unclear what would have happened if the Queen had been incapacitated after Prince Philip’s death while Prince Charles contracted COVID-19 and Prince William was abroad.

“But it can only be changed by parliament. When the monarch is young, the problem becomes less urgent, but attention is still required.

“Reports indicate that Prince Andrew has not reconciled with this and has no future as a senior working royal in the royal family. and so I think this aspect was handled well.”