According to sources, King Charles III forced Prince Andrew to wear his military uniform as he joined his brothers for a ‘last vigil’ around their mother’s coffin while she lies in state at Westminster Hall.
The Duke of York, 62, appeared at the vigil in Westminster Hall, London as his mother was laying in state with the rest of his brothers wearing his full uniform after it was reported that his brother had overturned the ban on him wearing it.
But palace sources told the Times that this ‘out of the blue’ instruction does not mean that Andrew, who was forced to give up his HRH status and was stripped of all his honorary military titles earlier this year as a result of his ties to pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, will return to his working royal position.
Charles’ decision to allow him to wear his uniform to the London vigil, but not to the Prince’s ceremony at St. Giles’ Cathedral or the Queen’s formal funeral, according to a Buckingham Palace source, was a “act of charity.”
Prince Andrew paid tribute to the Monarch on Sunday, stating, “Mother, your love for a son, your compassion, your care, and your confidence are things I will always cherish.”
King Charles III reportedly ordered Prince Andrew to wear his military uniform as he joined his brothers for a ‘last vigil’ around his mother’s coffin while she lay in state at Westminster Hall.
King Charles III stands guard behind the coffin of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, as she lies in state in Westminster Hall on a catafalque.
King Charles III, Princess Anne, Princess Royal, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex of the United Kingdom enter at Westminster Abbey for their mother’s state funeral.
Last week, when the Queen’s children, Prince William and Prince Harry, followed the Queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, neither the Duke of York nor the Duke of Sussex wore their uniforms; instead, they wore suits.
Prince Andrew did not wear his military uniform to the Vigil of Princes service at St. Giles’ Cathedral on Monday, as he is no longer a working royal.
On Friday evening, however, when Andrew and his siblings reenacted the ceremony by’standing guard’ over their mother’s casket, the Falklands War veteran was permitted to wear his uniform.
King Charles is believed to have eased the prohibition on Andrew’s attire out of respect for his mother.
Prince Andrew was photographed wearing his military uniform as he and Prince Edward arrived at Westminster Hall to attend a vigil in honor of their mother, Queen Elizabeth.
Princess Anne and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, were also photographed entering Westminster Hall.
The Queen’s children arrived at Westminster Hall, where they stood silently guard over their mother’s coffin for ten minutes as members of the public filed by.
Andrew (shown) accompanied his brothers and sisters at a reenactment of the Princes’ Vigil.
The King, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew, and Prince Edward stood in silence over their mother’s coffin for ten minutes as the crowd filed by.
It is believed that the ban on Prince Andrew wearing a military uniform, which led him to wear a morning suit at his mother’s funeral services, was overturned for the final vigil held in London.
Probably a relief for the Duke, who was heckled during a procession in Edinburgh and was forced to humbly lower his head as his siblings saluted as they walked behind their mother’s coffin as it was transported on a gun carriage.
Princess Anne, the only daughter of the Queen, made history at the last ‘Vigil of the Princes’ at St Giles’ Cathedral by being the first female member of the royal family to’stand guard’ as part of the memorial.
The ‘Vigil of the Princes’ on Monday marks the first occurrence of this tradition since 2002.
In the past, there have been two such ceremonies: in 1936, following the death of King George V, and in 2002, at the funeral of the Queen Mother.
Four royal grandsons attended the vigil: King Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward, and the Earl of Snowdon.
King Charles III let Prince Andrew, 62, who is no longer a working royal, to wear his military uniform as he stood guard over his mother’s coffin.
In a statement posted on the night of her funeral, Prince Andrew lauded the late monarch’s “unlimited knowledge and wisdom” and added, “I will miss your observations, guidance, and humor.”
He referred to the Queen as “Mummy, Mother, Your Majesty, three in one” and stated that serving her had been a “honor and privilege.”
Andrew coupled his thoughts with an image taken by social photographer Cecil Beaton in March 1960 of his mother holding him as a newborn.
“Dear Mummy, Mother, Your Majesty, three in one,” murmured the duke. It has been an honor and a delight to serve Your Majesty. Mother – of the nation, your devotion and personal service to our nation are exceptional and one-of-a-kind; your people express their love and respect for you in a variety of ways, and I know you are looking on with pride.
“I will always cherish your love for me, your compassion, your care, and your confidence, Mother. I have discovered your knowledge and wisdom to be boundless and inexhaustible. I will miss your wisdom, insight, and humor. As our book of experiences comes to an end, a new one begins, and I will eternally hold you dear to my heart with the sincerest love and thanks, and I will joyfully enter the next with you as my guide.
He concluded with the lines God Save The King in honor of his brother King Charles, who ascended the kingdom following the death of his mother.