Queen’s favourite parable is prodigal son – arriving with Andrew shows she sees him as black sheep to be welcomed home

THE Queen’s arrival on the arm of her second son, the Duke of York, spoke volumes.

Publicly disgraced he may be, but he is still the Queen’s favourite and always will be.

Her visible support for him demonstrates a mother’s love that refuses to be broken.

Andrew has always protested his innocence.

By the Queen choosing his support rather than that of the Prince of Wales, it means she believes him and she wants the world to know it.

The immediate Royal Family decided that as Andrew was so close to the Queen and lived only three miles away, he should be the one to keep an eye on her.

The Queen is all about forgiveness. So was Prince Philip.

The Dean of Windsor David O’Conner called it his ‘inner spiritual compass’. The Queen’s deep Christian faith is hers.

One of her favourite parables is that of the prodigal son.

He squandered his inheritance and yet when he returned home destitute his father, instead of being angry, declared he was ‘lost and now he is found.’ Possibly this is how she sees Andrew.

The ‘intriguing and attractive mix’ which went to make up the Philip’s personality was evident in the gathering of so many at the abbey.

For a man who always described himself as an ‘outsider’, his extraordinary life was well represented.

The abbey was filled with representatives of the many charities of which Philip was patron alongside clergy, senior military grandees, and a delightful gaggle of grandchildren and great grandchildren.

It made Prince Harry’s absence even more noticeable.

The petulant prince gave no reason why he would not attend.

It is something he will almost certainly live to regret.

• Ingrid Seward is author of Prince Philip Revealed and editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine.