Prince Andrew appeared to lead members of the royal family into the St George’s Chapel memorial service for the late King Constantine II of Greece in Windsor on Tuesday, in a bizarre twist following the news that Prince William had canceled his attendance owing to “personal reasons.”
The disgraced Andrew was photographed smiling broadly as he walked to the chapel alongside ex-wife Sarah Ferguson and their eldest daughter, Princess Beatrice, ahead of the larger group of royals also attending the service.
Andrew’s visibility at public events has been dramatically reduced since 2019 when he took part in a car crash interview in which he failed to justify maintaining his relationship with notorious billionaire Jeffrey Epstein following his conviction of sex offenses.
In 2021, Andrew was sued by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, who said she was forced to have sex with the prince when she was 17 years old. Andrew denied Giuffre’s claims and settled the lawsuit in 2022. He was stripped of his royal patronage and military roles.
Since then, the prince has remained persona non grata at official public events, only included in royal family occasions in a personal capacity, not on behalf of the monarchy. He attended Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022 and was last seen alongside the royals at their annual Christmas Day walkabout in Sandringham.
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Attention to the more minor members of the royal family was drawn on Tuesday, thanks to the absence not only of King Charles III and the Princess of Wales, who have recently experienced medical issues but also William, Constantine’s godson.
Kensington Palace would not elaborate on the personal reasons that warranted the cancellation.
However, Newsweek understands that they were not related to King Charles’s recent cancer diagnosis and that the Princess of Wales’ recovery from abdominal surgery last month continues to be going well.
The news of William’s short notice withdrawal with a non-explanatory statement comes as a focus on the royal family, and transparency has increased since the news that both the princess and the king were experiencing medical issues.
The princess made her last public appearance on Christmas Day. So far, Kensington Palace has issued only two updates on Kate’s health, the first announcing that she had undergone “planned abdominal surgery” and would be out of action until after Easter. The second, two weeks later, informed the public that she had been discharged from hospital and was “making good progress.”
The king has been seen more frequently, undertaking a small number of public appearances since the announcement was made on February 6 that he had been diagnosed with cancer and was undergoing treatment.
Charles, however, like William, was absent from King Constantine’s memorial at St George’s Chapel, Windsor, on Tuesday morning.
Queen Camilla represented her husband, accompanying King Constantine’s widow, Queen Anne Marie, and his eldest son, Crown Prince Pavlos.
The announcement of William’s absence was made as his name was already included in the event’s order of service, detailing that he was to read the second lesson, a verse from the Bible’s Book of Revelation.
Reading of The Prince of Wales, as outlined in the Order of Service for the memorial of King Constantine II of Greece—St George’s Chapel, February 27, 2024
Revelation 21. 1–7
“I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth
had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned
for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘See, the home of God is among mortals. He will dwell with them; they will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them; he will wipe every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; mourning and crying and pain will be no more, for the first things have passed away.’ And the one who was seated on the throne said, ‘See, I am making all things new.’ Also he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’ Then he said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life. Those who conquer will inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
“Here ends the lesson.”
King Constantine’s memorial was held at St. George’s Chapel with the permission of his cousin, King Charles III.
The British and Greek royal families have shared ancestors dating back generations, most closely through King Christian IX of Denmark, whose daughter, Alexandra, married Queen Victoria’s eldest son, the future King Edward VII. King Charles III is Christian’s great-great-great-grandson.
Christian’s second son, William, was made the King of Greece in 1863. Constantine II is Christian’s great-great grandson.
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King Charles formed a close attachment to his Greek ancestry through his father, Prince Philip, who was born on the island of Corfu as a prince of Greece and Denmark.
Charles and Constantine were friends, and after the latter’s exile following the abolishment of the monarchy in Greece in 1973, he settled for a time in England where his family were often entertained by their British cousins.
In 1982, Charles and Princess Diana asked Constantine to become godfather to their eldest son, Prince William. The king was present at both his christening and confirmation.
In return, William is godfather to Constantine’s grandson and namesake, Prince Constantine Alexios of Greece, who was born in 1998.
King Constantine died in Greece on January 10, 2023, at the age of 82.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.