The former Duke had a tense interaction with his nephew.
Andrew stood near Prince William at the funeral (Image: Getty)
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s final appearance alongside the Royal Family took place in September when he arrived to attend the Duchess of Kent’s funeral in London. Scandal-hit Andrew quickly prompted disgust from royal fans as he was pictured laughing and grinning after the solemn service outside Westminster Cathedral.
He then turned to his nephew, Prince William, and attempted to share a few words, something that reportedly left the future King “furious”. As crowds turned out to pay their respects to the late Duchess, the Daily Mail’s Royal Editor, Rebecca English, noticed the surprising interaction between Andrew and William, according to her colleague Richard Eden.
Speaking on the Daily Mail Royals’ YouTube channel, he said: “Her jaw dropped when Andrew attempted to make conversation with William on the steps of Westminster Cathedral.”
Mr Eden continued: “This frosty exchange made headlines, but to me, this was the precise moment we saw William’s intention to oust Andrew in the coming weeks. After the funeral, Andrew could be seen muttering a few words to William, who appears to decline to engage in the conversation and only gives a brief nod in response.”
The moment prompted a great deal of shock as William’s alleged views and influence in his uncle’s banishment from public life have been well-reported.
Author Andrew Lownie, who wrote the explosive book entitled: The Rise And Fall Of The House Of York, spoke about the moment and claimed William was “furious” after being ambushed during the service.
He said at the time: “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.”
Andrew smirked as he tried to speak to his nephew (Image: Getty)
The frosty exchange made headlines for weeks and came before Andrew was stripped of his titles and asked to move out of Royal Lodge in Windsor. The latest update in his fall from grace has seen the disgraced royal accused of “hiding” from the US Congress, after he was summoned to be questioned regarding his links to Epstein.
Congressman Suhas Subramanyam from the House Oversight Committee told the Guardian that the former Duke “has been hiding from us, and I think he will continue to try to hide from people doing meaningful investigations of this matter.”
“It seems like every time we find more evidence, Prince Andrew seems to be in the documents,” he added.
A letter sent to Andrew by the committee 10 days ago, and signed by 16 members of Congress, has requested that he respond by this Thursday.
