Analysis: Takeaways from Prince Philip’s memorial service

The decision about whether the monarch would attend truly came down to the wire. As she rallied from her recent health problems, confirmation she would be there came mere hours before she made her first major public event outside of a royal residence in almost six months.

The royal family — many wearing the meaningful shade of deep “Edinburgh Green” — descended upon Westminster Abbey for the first time in two years. They were joined by a congregation in its hundreds, in stark contrast to the duke’s funeral last year, held amid pandemic restrictions.

Let’s start by addressing the elephant in the room. The monarch arrived last, as is protocol, arm in arm with none other than Prince Andrew. The move stunned many, after the Duke of York was all but banished from royal service over his ties to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his legal battle with one of Epstein’s sexual trafficking survivors, Virginia Giuffre.

You’ll remember that when the royal was stripped of his HRH title, Buckingham Palace said: “The Duke of York will continue not to undertake any public duties and is defending this case as a private citizen.”

Andrew’s prominence at his father’s service led some to ask if the choice of escort was an endorsement from the monarch and was perhaps laying the groundwork for a return for the disgraced royal.

Was it an unconventional selection? Maybe. But it was the Queen’s to make. It’s worth remembering that the two live close together in Windsor and it would have made practical sense for them to travel to and from central London together. The other point is that despite all the pageantry that comes with a Westminster service,…