The royal family is coming together to mourn the death of Her Majesty the Queen – but
there's one person many people wish would stay far away.
As the world mourns the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the end of her 70-year reign, arrangements
have been made for her final send-off.
The late queen's funeral will be held on September 19th, 2022.
What's more, King Charles III proclaimed the funeral date as a public holiday in the United Kingdom.
With the ascension of the king to the throne, Fox News reported that this might be the last
time Prince Andrew makes a public appearance.
Of course, this is due to his alleged ties with disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein,
who was convicted as a sex offender, and the sexual assault allegations brought forth by Virginia Giuffre.
Royal expert Shannon Felton Spence told Fox News,
"Probably the biggest drama was with Prince Andrew.
If anything was causing the queen stress, it was him; he was a real, real crisis."
Spence, formerly a British public affairs official, added,
"His boss now is King Charles, and he doesn't have the same fondness for Andrew as his mother did.
He will be at the funeral and other official things, but I would not be surprised if this
will be the last we see of Andrew with the family."
Spence believes Andrew will not have a central role despite the fact that The Daily Beast
reports he took a high-profile role during the public mourning ceremony.
This caused rumors to buzz around whether the royal family "tested the waters" during
the mourning ceremony to determine what his role should be during the funeral procession.
Still, Prince Andrew's future in the royal family remains to be seen – especially as
members of the public share their opinions about the disgraced royal.
"Andrew!
You're a sick old man!"
Another reason Prince Andrew, Duke of York, might have cause to worry is King Charles'
widely-reported plan to modernize the monarchy.
As royal expert Jonathan Sacerdoti explained to Us Weekly,
"It's always been rumored that he wants to slim down the working royals at the core of
the family."
Following a difficult few years, during which Andrew's sex scandal was constantly in the
press, the newly-crowned king will be looking to ensure only the most important and trusted
family members are front and center in an attempt to save them from further negative attention.
The various royal press officers are generally left to their own devices, which makes it
tough to effectively handle PR scandals.
Likewise, if there are fewer higher-ranking members of the royal family, taxpayers would
have to pay less to fund their lifestyles, which would likely also endear them to the
public more.
King Charles may soon come to regret letting his beleaguered brother play a central role
in the queen's funeral.
As the Daily Mail reported, Andrew, "insisted" on escorting his ailing mother to her seat
on the day of Prince Philip's memorial service in 2021 — stealing the spotlight in the
process — reportedly in direct defiance of Prince William and Charles' wishes.
Considering the circumstances, the father-son duo simply didn't think it was a good idea
for Andrew to appear in such close proximity to the queen, and the move was seen as a desperate
attempt by the Duke of York to get back in the public's good graces.
Even Andrew's own siblings were reportedly "dismayed" by how his presence dominated press
coverage of the event.
Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt told Express the queen wanted to show that
her beloved son, quote, "still has a role at family occasions."
Hunt elaborated,
"It's one thing to accept that he should attend his father's memorial service, it's quite
another thing to then give him quite a prominent role so it was an active choice to give him
such a prominent role."
Funnily enough, as the New York Post points out, Andrew could still become king someday
if things go seriously south for the royal family, since he's currently eighth in line
to the throne.
Considering how people are reacting to his presence now, one can only imagine the furor
that would rise if that day ever came.