Prince Harry Didn't Salute Queen Elizabeth's Coffin for Specific Reason

By Stephen Andrew

During the coffin procession for Queen Elizabeth II, her grandson Prince Harry didn't salute the highness's casket, leaving many wondering why. While Harry and his uncle Prince Andrew wore mourning suits for the procession per Us Weekly, many of their family members — including Harry's father King Charles III, and his brother Prince William — were adorned in their military service wardrobe. This is because neither Harry nor Andrew are no longer working members of the Royal Family and therefore expected to simply bow their heads in reverence rather than salute the coffin, even though both men did serve in the British military.

Harry served for a decade in the armed forces, but stepped down from his senior Royal duties in 2020, along with his wife, Meghan Markle. The couple shares two children, 3-year-old son, Archie, and, 15-month-old daughter Lili. They moved to California where they live and work with an organization they founded, Archewell Inc., which is "an American public organization that focuses on non-profit activities and creative media ventures." Walking away from his Royal life meant that Harry gave up three honorary military titles.

Andrew served more than 20 years in the Royal Navy, but stopped participating in senior royal duties and was stripped of his military titles, including Colonel of the Grenadier Guards, after being accused of sexual assault by Virginia Roberts Giuffre in November 2019. Notably, Andrew recently dealt with a heckler during his mother's funeral procession. TMZ previously reported that, as the car carrying the Queen passed by, someone yelled, "Andrew, you're a sick old man!" The heckler then had an altercation with some other individuals, including police, before being escorted away.

It's no secret that Prince Andrew has been a controversial member of the U.K.'s Royal Family over the past few years, stemming from his connection to financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Earlier this year, Andrew settled a lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, who has accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. The allegations are related to other claims from Giuffre that Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell trafficked and abused her when she was a teenager. She has alleged that the abuse began after she started working at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, Florida.

According to Huffpost, the lawsuit claimed that Prince Andrew was a friend of Epstein and that he sexually assaulted Giuffre on multiple occasions. "During each of the aforementioned incidents, Plaintiff was compelled by express or implied threats by Epstein, Maxwell, and/or Prince Andrew to engage in sexual acts with Prince Andrew," the lawsuit states. It goes on to explain that Giuffre "feared death or physical injury to herself or another and other repercussions for disobeying Epstein, Maxwell, and Prince Andrew due to their powerful connections, wealth, and authority."

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