'This is grotesque, isn't it?': Anger after police arrests man who heckled Prince Andrew during Queen procession
A 22-year-old man has been charged for “breach of speech” after the Duke of York was heckled as he walked behind the Queen’s coffin.
The man was pulled out of the queue by two bystanders and was later arrested and charged.
It is reported that the man in the crowd called Prince Andrew a "nonce", which according to Cambridge Dictionary is British slang for "a person who commits a crime involving sex, especially sex with a child".
The news of the arrest came after King Charles III announced Saturday that Prince Andrews would continue as the Counsellor of State—meaning he can officially step in for Charles if he is unavailable to fulfill his duties.
Andrew stepped down from public life after the furore over his friendship with billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
People are outraged at the news of the arrest and Andrews’s position as Counsellor of State and questioned if they still live in “a free country” that allows criminals to walk free and be in charge of the monarch.
Many people drew comparisons to Meghan Markle and how the public has been berating her for being “black”, while Prince Andrew walked free after paying millions in a sexual assault allegation.
Here are more reactions from around the globe:
Charles has now appointed Prince Andrew to step in for him first if he is ill or out of the country.
That's right, the same Prince Andrew who was a close friend of Jeffrey Epstein and used £12 million of our money to settle a sexual assault case.— Lowkey (@Lowkey0nline) September 14, 2022
Prince Andrew literally stroked his daughter’s ass on live TV and yet Emerson has still been the worst performing Royal this week
— Ryan (@ryangoIdy8) September 13, 2022
BREAKING: Prince Andrew has been given the role of stepping in for King Charles if he ever becomes sick or leaves the country, meaning he is essentially deputy king. This is grotesque, isn't it?
— Laura Kuenssberg Translator (@BBCLauraKT) September 14, 2022
Prince Andrew is allowed to wear his uniform because he didn't do anything as awful as marrying a black woman. pic.twitter.com/Q4LaeSmLDp
— Parody Prime Minister (@Parody_PM) September 13, 2022
We’ve lost it…
Prince Andrew paid off the woman suing him for sexual abuse
Up to £12m
And was stripped of military titles as a result
Both imply guilt
And yet he walks free & will face no justice
While a 22 year old who heckled him is charged with a breach of the peace…— Marina Purkiss (@MarinaPurkiss) September 13, 2022
The man who heckled Prince Andrew for being a nonce is going to face a stiffer punishment than Prince Andrew did for being a nonce
— Council Estate Socialism (@RickyDHale) September 12, 2022
If you’re spending more time hating on Harry & Meghan for merely existing than hating on Prince Andrew for being a literal pedophile perhaps it’s time to rethink your life choices.
— Meredith Lee (@meralee727) September 13, 2022
Of course they fucking did. Look at that interview with Newsnight – you couldn't rely on him to keep himself out of trouble. 5 minutes in the interrogation room, and Prince Andrew would've walked out with a dozen new charges. https://t.co/0eSAhgcDyt
— Ash Sarkar (@AyoCaesar) September 14, 2022
Charles III has appointed Prince Andrew as a Counsellor of State who might act in his place despite his obvious inappropriateness for such office. It seems that Charles is intent on undermining the monarchy with everything he does.
— Richard Murphy (@RichardJMurphy) September 14, 2022
Prince Andrew who isn’t even a Prince anymore is now Deputy King.
Clearly Charles doesn’t care about ‘reforming’ the monarchy anymore than Liz Truss cares about dealing with the ‘Energy Crisis’.
Filthy, dirty, liars the lot.— BladeoftheSun (@BladeoftheS) September 14, 2022
An outrage. The Monarchy must've known Prince Andrew would still carry out royal duties when stripping him of titles etc. The Queen allegedly bankrolled his fees/ abuse settlement & now he'll be Counsellor of State to King Charles III. Sending public clear message.
If I speak... https://t.co/LCXNUtS1gK— Dr Shola Mos-Shogbamimu (@SholaMos1) September 14, 2022
Why does Meghan Markle seem to get a rougher ride from the British media than Prince Andrew?
— Freddie (@FreddieBailey96) September 11, 2022
The fact that Meghan Markle gets treated way worse by the press than Prince Andrew is absolutely astonishing. Apparently eating avocados is worse that abusing children
— Tom Alebine (@TAlebine) September 10, 2022
the police taking more action against a lad heckling prince andrew than they ever did against prince andrew himself is too on the nose https://t.co/B8zQKgzrHS
— Ben Smoke (@bencsmoke) September 12, 2022
If Prince Andrew didn’t want to be heckled then he should have stayed at home. He was relieved of Royal Duties in 2020 after letting down his mother spectacularly, so he shouldn’t be using her death as an excuse to try sanitising his reputation. Arresting hecklers is grotesque
— Matt Zarb-Cousin (@mattzarb) September 12, 2022
I think Prince Andrew’s pedophilia did more to “tarnish the image” of the Royal Family tbh rather than Meghan Markle speaking about her mental health struggles and the racism she experienced at the hands of this institution https://t.co/nYpW72LPit
— Katie Heyes (@heyes_katie) September 10, 2022
The time to shout at Prince Andrew is when he’s in earshot and the place is any place you see him.
— Mic Wright (@brokenbottleboy) September 12, 2022
It is absolutely disgusting that the British press, media and public have given Meghan Markle a harder time than they've given Prince Andrew, who paid a financial settlement to the tune of 12 MILLION to end sexual assault allegations. Ridiculous.
— ASHLEIGH LOUISE (@axhleighlouise) September 11, 2022
"Powerful men shouldn’t be allowed to commit sexual crimes and get away with it" says Rory, arrested for shouting at Prince Andrew on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh.
Thank you for standing up for survivors of sexual violence, Rory. pic.twitter.com/aLQfNWof19— Supertanskiii (@supertanskiii) September 12, 2022