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Prince Andrew Escorts Queen Elizabeth II to Prince Philip’s Memorial After Settling Lawsuit

Prince Andrew Joins Queen Elizabeth II at Prince Philip's Memorial Service
Prince Andrew, Queen Elizabeth II, and Prince Philip. Shutterstock(3)

A rare public outing. Prince Andrew attended a memorial service for his late father, Prince Philip, with his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Related: Queen Elizabeth II's Royal Family Tree

The Duke of York, 61, escorted the 95-year-old monarch from Windsor Castle to Westminster Abbey on Tuesday, March 29. His mother held his arm as they entered through a side entrance.

The queen sat beside her eldest son, Prince Charles, for the duration of the service. She wore her glasses to read along with the service and sang along to the hymns.

The event was very different from Philip’s funeral in April 2021, where the queen had to sit alone amid the coronavirus pandemic. Only 30 people were allowed to attend the service after Philip died at age 99 due to natural causes.

Tuesday’s service had 1,800 people in attendance, BBC News reports, with Princess Anne sitting alongside her mother and the Duke of Cornwall. Behind them were Prince William and Duchess Kate as well as two of their children, Prince George, 8, and Princess Charlotte, 6. Andrew sat with Prince Edward across the aisle from the queen.

Prince Andrew Joins Queen Elizabeth II at Prince Philip's Memorial Service
Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Andrew. Richard Pohle/Pool/Shutterstock

This was Andrew’s first public outing with the royal family since he settled his lawsuit with Virginia Giuffre in February. The queen’s second son stepped away from his public royal duties in November 2019 after Giuffre, 38, accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was underage.

Related: Biggest Royal Family Scandals Through the Years

At the time, the prince’s ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein were questioned. The financier was arrested on federal charges for sex trafficking minors in August 2019 and died by suicide in his jail cell one month later.

Guiffre’s suit against the disgraced royal was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount of money.

A letter was submitted to the United States District Court in New York City and explained that a donation would be made to the California native’s nonprofit, Speak Out, Act, Reclaim (SOAR).

“Prince Andrew intends to make a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights,” the letter reads. “Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms. Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks.”

Related: Prince Andrew Through the Years: Fatherhood, Scandals and More

The letter also acknowledged that the prince regrets his association with Epstein.

“It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years,” the statement continued. “Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others. He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims.”

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