Stoic Princess Anne continued to undertake royal engagements despite her brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, being arrested on Thursday.
Hours after her younger brother was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the Princess Royal visited HM Prison Leeds in her capacity as patron of The Butler Trust, a charity dedicated to those working in prisons.
While Anne didn’t meet with any of the prisoners at the Category B Men’s prison, she spoke with members of staff before unveiling a plaque.
The 75-year-old also carried out an engagement at the Abraham Moon & Sons textile mill in Guiseley later in the day. A planned engagement for earlier on Thursday had to be cancelled after the royal’s helicopter was unable to fly due to low cloud cover.
No photos have emerged from the outing yet; however, speaking to local media, one resident said: “It’s sad in a way it’s come to this, given the stature and everything of the royal family. He’s [Andrew] a big figure in the UK and in the royal family. It’s just a sad situation and I do feel for the royal family that this is happening to them.”
Andrew’s arrest
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on Thursday morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office and was released shortly after being held for 11 hours.
Plain-clothed police officers were seen arriving at Sandringham in patrol cars just after 8am. The arrest coincided with Andrew’s 66th birthday.
The arrest means that police are allowed to search his homes, including his former property Royal Lodge in Windsor, where officers in unmarked vans were seen arriving at on Friday morning.
See what our royal editor, Emily Nash, had to say about the arrest in the video below…
Royals at work
Despite Andrew’s arrest, it was business as usual for many members of the family, with King Charles and Queen Camilla both carrying out pre-arranged engagements. On Thursday afternoon, Camilla was seen visiting the Sinfonia Smith Square Hall in Westminster for a lunchtime performance.
However, as she left, Camilla was caught on camera being asked: “Are you concerned about Andrew’s arrest, Your Majesty?” The Queen was seen waving, but she didn’t answer the question.
© PA Images via Getty ImagesMeanwhile, Charles attended the opening of London Fashion Week, where he was greeted with groans from the surrounding crowd. Despite this, HELLO!’s royal editor Emily Nash, who was present at the event, reports: “If he was feeling the strain of the day’s events, he did not show it and appeared to enjoy himself as he chatted to designers and fashion industry figures at the prestigious opening.”
Ahead of his public appearance, Charles released a statement which partially read: “What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation.”
Read the full article here
