The Queen wanted Prince Andrew to be by her side at Philip’s memorial service even though she was prepared to make tough decisions in his removal from being a working royal, a new book claims.
And she "deliberately" allowed herself to be photographed with him in a show of support, it adds.
The Duke of York was stripped of his military affiliations and royal patronages by the Queen over his connections to Jeffrey Epstein and a court case in the US of sexual assault that has now been settled with the prince making no admission of guilt.
The scandal also sparked controversy for the Royal Family putting the institution in a bad light and it led to him being axed as an active member of the royals.
The Queen showed that she was willing to remove Andrew even though she has often been described as seeing him as her favourite son.
It is a view that has also been taken in a new book on the Queen by author Gyles Brandreth who does though point out that she continued to “support” him during the sex scandal and did want him at the Prince Philip memorial.
“The late monarch was a loving mother but one who was willing to take tough decisions when necessary, none more so than over her 'favourite child' Andrew,” revealed the book, reports the Daily Mail.
“Although she retained her 'confidence' in her second son, she had no hesitation in stripping him of his role following his disastrous Jeffrey Epstein interview in 2019. 'The Queen took a firm grip of things'.”
It continued: "The Queen also deliberately allowed herself to be photographed riding with Andrew in Windsor Great Park the day after she relieved him of his royal duties to show her personal support.
She was also in favour of his appearance at her side at Philip's memorial service."
Brandreth also tells how the Queen was “discreet” and this was shown when she listened to Andrew when he went through the whole story of his friendship with Epstein where she listened carefully and then is claimed to have just said “intriguing” at the end.
Prince Philip’s thanksgiving service took place at Westminster Abbey on March 29 this year, a year after he died.
Andrew made his first public appearance since reaching an out of court agreement with his accuser Virginia Giuffre.
And he sparked controversy by accompanying the Queen from Windsor Castle and then playing a prominent role in the thanksgiving service by walking the monarch down the aisle and to her chair.
