Prince William’s Awkward Reaction to Prince Andrew Caught on Camera

Prince William’s reaction to Prince Andrew sidling up to him for a chat at a royal funeral on Tuesday went viral on social media.

Andrew quit public life in 2019 over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein but makes occasional appearances at private family events, usually at church.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were seen glancing over their shoulders as Andrew left Westminster Cathedral following the Duchess of Kent’s funeral on Tuesday afternoon.

And William looked decidedly uncomfortable as Andrew tried to talk to him while the TV cameras filmed the pair.

The Prince of Wales said nothing in the footage, simply nodding at his uncle, who has denied sexually assaulting a 17-year-old Epstein sex trafficking victim.

A clip of the moment was viewed 365,000 times and liked 1,100 times after being posted with the message: “A case study in please stfu-ism.”

A longer version was viewed 258,000 times and liked 841 times and was posted with the message: “Watch how the disgusting man Andrew out of nowhere got closer to #PrinceWilliam, looked at the cameras then tried to talk to him while William’s body language said everything, he ignored him and started talking to Sir Tim Laurence +see William was normal with other family members.”

Meanwhile, a supporter of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle felt they saw warmth between the pair, writing: “Prince William & Prince Andrew having a laugh together at #DuchessofKent’s funeral.

“Willy is trying to hold in his laugh so we don’t realize they’re besties, but we caught it (we already knew they were when Willy drove him to church AFTER Andrew’s £12M payout to Virginia Giuffre).”

And another felt Andrew was trying to make William squirm: “Unpopular opinion. I think Andrew knew exactly what he was doing. And he did it deliberately.

“Andrew knows William is s*** talking him in the press. Being spotted being chummy with William was Andrew getting back at him. Be prepared for a briefing that William tried to ignore Andrew, but Andrew kept talking to him.”

Virginia Giuffre sued Andrew at a federal court in New York in 2021, stating she was forced by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to have sex with Andrew in London, New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands in 2001. The following year, he settled out of court without admitting liability.

Andrew told the BBC in November 2019: “I’m not in a position to know what she’s trying to achieve but I can tell you categorically I don’t remember meeting her at all. I do not remember a photograph being taken and I’ve said consistently and frequently that we never had any sort of sexual contact whatever.”

Andrew’s explanations in the interview, with journalist Emily Maitlis, sparked ridicule after he said he had a medical inability to sweat and could not have forgotten having sex with Giuffre because: “If you’re a man it is a positive act to have sex with somebody. You have to take some sort of positive action and so therefore if you try to forget… it’s very difficult to try and forget a positive action and I do not remember anything.”

In the aftermath, he quit public life and has not performed official royal duties since.

William attended the funeral with Princess Kate and King Charles III while Queen Camilla pulled out as she recovers from acute sinusitis.

It was the first Catholic royal funeral in modern British history and the king received a special message from the Pope.

Do you have a question about King Charles III and Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We’d love to hear from you.