AMANDA PLATELL: How on earth could the royals have allowed Prince Andrew to worm his way back into the fold so publicly? It all adds to the perception of things falling apart

What a horrible and shameful image. What a royal rabble it was, headed by a disgraced Prince Andrew walking ahead of the others, while his galloping ex-wife Fergie followed a few paces behind.

He’s grinning from ear to ear, like the tomcat that’s been creamed, as if to say, “There, I told you I’d be back, at the front of the stage, and in my rightful position as the Queen’s favorite son.” would resume.’

Why on earth did the royal family allow this image to be broadcast to the world? How could Andrew – whose friendship with the late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein so brought the monarchy into disrepute – managed to claw his way back into the royal fold?

This was the scene before a solemn Thanksgiving service at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor honoring the life of the former King Constantine of Greece, who died last year at the age of 82. A service that brought together the largest gathering of the European royal family since the funeral of the late queen in September 2022.

Hardly an opportunity to laugh and joke, as Andrew did as he led the royal group to the chapel.

Prince Andrew was grinning from ear to ear, as if to say, “There, I told you I’d be back, front stage.”

The only working royal in the picture is Princess Anne, who cannot be faulted for the hours she puts in, and who lately seems to be one of the few in the Firm keeping things running. Why was she relegated four rows back in the group, while Andrew was in first place?

Royal experts point out that the first person in the group is actually the least important – and that the later you arrive at the service, the more senior you are. That explains why Queen Camilla was the last to enter her pew in the chapel.

Andrew with late pedophile Jeffrey Epstein in New York, 2011

But we are talking about perceptions. This was a picture of an unashamedly triumphant Prince Andrew leading the pack – with Sarah Ferguson, no stranger to controversy herself, ahead of Anne.

What used to be the Palace think? Why didn’t Andrew enter the chapel through a side door? Why did no one among the army of courtiers and advisors have the sense to see what this would look like?

Palace staff were at pains to emphasize that Andrew was only present as a member of the royal family in a ‘private capacity’, as this was classified as a family affair.

Whatever, they knew the service would draw a large crowd as TV cameras were set up inside and outside St. George’s Chapel.

Perhaps Andrew, as eighth in line for the throne, felt it his right to move ahead of Anne, who languishes in seventeenth place.

But the fact that he is still in the line of succession at all is an absurdity – and baffling even to those, like me, who love the royal family.

Which brings us to Andrew’s daughter, Princess Beatrice, famous for little other than her taste in hideous fascinators, who was also in the photo. She’s not a working royal, she’s a hanger. And yet, due to outdated descent laws, Bea is tenth in line for the throne.

Andrew is the first and only prince to be effectively dismissed, stripped of all military roles and public functions. But he has been shamelessly pushing for a return to royal duties for years. So much so that the late Queen had to tell him to ‘stay out of sight’ for ‘his own good’ in the summer of 2022.

No wonder she did so, given the fallout from his appearance in St. George’s Chapel. Whether it was a private or public ceremony, whether he technically followed the rules, I say to hell with royal protocol if the result is a PR car crash like this.

Princess Beatrice (pictured with husband Edoardo arriving at the chapel), famous for her taste in hideous fascinators, was also in the picture despite not being a working royal.

These non-working royals just don’t get it, do they? As if Andrew and Fergie’s parade wasn’t enough, we also had to deal with the fact that Prince Harry was still desperately clinging to his royal status, despite spurning his family and fleeing to California.

This week he lost his High Court case against the Home Office’s decision to cut his taxpayer-funded personal security service in Britain. A self-exiled prince suing the British government! What a joke.

As much as it pains me to say it, Prince William, as heir apparent, should have led the mourners to the chapel instead of Uncle Andy. He was scheduled to give a lecture at the service of his godfather, King Constantine, but withdrew 45 minutes before the service citing a “personal matter.” There is no further explanation.

It all leads to things falling apart. I cannot see the late Queen ever withdrawing from a service at such short notice, no matter how urgent or desperate the personal circumstances may have been.

Remember how two days before she died, aged 96, she met her new Prime Minister Liz Truss at Balmoral? Have modern royals forgotten her saying, “Never complain, never explain,” and always show up?

There is one silver lining in all of this. I never thought I’d say it as one of her fiercest critics in the past, but thank goodness for Queen Camilla. She has taken up the mantle magnificently and is carrying out her royal duties in good humor while King Charles is being treated for cancer. And to think she was once mocked as ‘Britain’s laziest woman’. How things have changed!