Prince Andrew looked “defiant” at Prince Philip’s memorial service where he was blanked by all the royals apart from the Queen, a body language expert is reported to have said.
The Duke of York escorted the Queen from Windsor Castle to the Thanksgiving of Life service at Westminster Abbey but was given the cold shoulder by other members of the Royal Family.
Surprisingly, having been removed from public life and paying suspected millions to settle a civil sexual assault case involving Virginia Giuffre, Andrew was given a prominent role alongside his mother.
But her warmth appeared not to be shared by other royals, said body language expert Judi James, who claimed that they “pretended to not even see him”.
Only Prince Harry and Meghan Markle of the senior royals were not at the service that were attended also by friends and people who benefitted from his charities and patronages.
With around 1,800 people attending the thanksgiving event it was a very different scene to Philip’s funeral last year that was held with minimal mourners due to Covid restrictions.
Andrew took his seat next to Edward in the front row at the church after escorting the Queen.
Ms James told the Daily Mail: “Taking his place next to Edward he cut an isolated but defiant-looking figure, but there were no glances or even nods of greeting and no discernible eye contact. The eye-avoidance looked deliberate, with most of the Firm staring pointedly ahead as though barely even aware of him.”
She pointed out how Edward and Sophie have been used by the Royal Family as buffers on other occasions but there was no “warmth” this time.
And she honed in on the closeness of the relationship that the Queen has with Andrew.
"The message from the Queen about her prodigal son Andrew looked unequivocal today. As her eldest son Charles is fond of saying, this is now clearly a 'non-negotiable' relationship," said Ms James.
"Not only did she choose her second son to accompany and support her as she walked into the Abbey, making this the first time she has been seen in public accepting assistance from anyone, she also paused before they parted to take their seats and threw him a smile of thanks in front of UK and foreign royalty as well as the eyes of the rest of the world."
The body language expert also felt that there was a "non-verbal arrogance" from Andrew which she picked up by the wave that he gave to photographers.
"Andrew's bearing was upright and almost military. Those spectacles perched on the end of his nose suggested his tendency to non-verbal arrogance is still holding firm, while his wave to the cameras could be seen as something of a victory role," Ms James added.
