Several senior members of the family are said to have questioned the propriety of putting Andrew at the centre of the broadcast service by entrusting him with the task of accompanying his mother from Windsor to Westminster Abbey.

It happened only weeks after the Duke of York paid Virginia Giuffre millions of pounds to settle a sexual assault legal action in the United States out of court, in a scandal that culminated in his removal from his remaining royal obligations.

Prince Charles and the Duke of Cambridge are among those who are said to have expressed reservations when Andrew originally floated the notion.

According to reports, it went away for a time but then reappeared at the last minute, shocking the family to see the Queen followed into the Abbey by her disgraced second son.

Andrew was expected to have visited the Abbey with his daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, as well as their spouses, according to the Order of Service.

In a last-minute move, he travelled from Windsor with the Queen, changed vehicles at Buckingham Palace, and then escorted her into the Abbey by a side door after arriving with her in a state limousine.

Family members supported the Queen’s decision, understanding that she took the difficult choice to suspend her son from all royal duties in November 2019 and subsequently to remove him from all obligations in January this year for the sake of the monarchy.

However, some believed Andrew should not have proposed the proposal.

“It’s unfortunate that what was supposed to be a celebration of his father has had a shade put over it,” one insider remarked last night.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on the decision, but royal insiders emphasised that Andrew had always been welcomed at family gatherings. They said he accompanied her since it was a family event.

Another report interpreted it as a practical precaution because both the Queen and Andrew were being driven in from Windsor. “They were coming from the same place, so it made sense,” explained the insider.

Guests at the Abbey agreed that Andrew should be present for his father’s burial ceremony, regardless of the problems around him, but several were surprised to see him given such a prominent position.

They regarded it as the strongest evidence yet that the Queen stands firmly behind her son, despite the controversy surrounding his association with millionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and the subsequent court battle launched by Ms Giuffre, which resulted in Andrew settling without admitting culpability.

Yesterday, some called the scenario a smack in the face for victims of sexual assault and sex trafficking.

Ms Giuffre, 38, was among numerous women who alleged Epstein trafficked them and forced them to have sex with his affluent associates.

“This demonstrates just how little the royals comprehend the popular anger towards Prince Andrew,” remarked journalist and broadcaster Benjamin Butterworth. It’s a slap in the face for sex trafficking victims to witness Andrew riding beside the head of state like this.”

Several royal critics, however, believed that the Queen was segregating her affection for her son at a family gathering on the one hand and the monarchy’s interests on the other.

“This was her way of discreetly indicating ‘OK, he screwed up extremely horribly, this was a disgrace, but he is my son,'” said former BBC Royal Correspondent Jennie Bond.

Another former BBC royal journalist, Peter Hunt, stated that it was an indication of the Queen “endorsing” Andrew, adding, “It didn’t happen by coincidence.”

“He might have sat in the congregation with others, with his family, but they deliberately determined that he would support her.”

“So she has decided, in essence, to remind people that he has not confessed any crime, that he is not guilty of anything, and that he is innocent.”

“And she’s obviously suggesting that he plays a role during family gatherings.”