Prince Andrew by the Queen’s side ahead of his final official appearance as royal

Prince Andrew has been seen accompanying the Queen to a memorial in honour of his father Prince Philip, which will be his final official public appearance as a royal.

Andrew, 62, was seen seated beside his mother in a vehicle as they made their way from Windsor Castle to Tuesday morning's service at Westminster Abbey.

The Duke was stripped of his Royal HRH and military titles in January, shortly after it was announced that he would face a civil trial in a sexual abuse case.

The trial was later called off after Andrew and his accuser, Virginia Guiffre, reached an out of court settlement thought to include a payment of £12million from the Duke. He has consistently denied all allegations.

It’s believed that after today’s service – where Prince Philip is being remembered by a crowd of over 1,000 mourners including senior Royals and Prime Minister Boris Johnson – Andrew will disappear from public life.

He has been seen just a handful of times in recent months, having stepped down from Royal duties in November 2019, when his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein began facing increased scrutiny.

The service marked his first public outing since the settlement was agreed.

The father-of-two reached the settlement, which he will reportedly receive help from the Queen to pay, out of court, which meant he was no longer be required to appear in a US court.

As the allegation loomed over him, Andrew remained incredibly close to his mother and he lives just a stone's throw away from her Windsor estate.

In the weeks following the out of court agreement, it was reported that he was making nightly visits to the monarch.

In February, a royal insider was quoted as telling The Sun: "Andrew has been very careful and is trying to keep out of sight.

“He knows there are photographers in the daytime and his best chance to avoid them is after dark.

"He knows he is meant to be keeping his head down and it’s a short trip, but he is extremely contrite and apologised to the Queen for all the trouble he has caused her."

Tuesday's memorial has been painstakingly planned by the Queen herself and many of Philip's funeral requests – which could not be carried out due to Covid restrictions – will be honoured.

Adjustments have also been made in order to ensure the monarch could attend after a recent period of ill-health.

Elizabeth II will take a shorter route into the Abbey, arriving via Poet's Corner rather than the usual Lantern route.

During the 40-minute service, she'll sit on one of the Canada Chairs with an added cushion for comfort.

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