The tarnished medal: After those linked with a paedophile, was this the right time for the Queen to honour Andrew?



Prince Andrew: Awarded the highest possible honour for 'personal service' to the Queen

Prince Andrew has been awarded the highest possible honour for ‘personal service’ to the Queen, despite the continuing row over his close friendships with a convicted paedophile and tyrannical foreign regimes.

The Duke of York was driven the short hop from his home, Royal Lodge, to Windsor Castle on Saturday morning where his mother invested him with the insignia of a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order before the two took tea together.

The RVO was founded by Queen Victoria in April 1896 as a way of rewarding personal service to the sovereign.

It is one of only a handful of honours chosen without any ministerial recommendation and is, therefore, entirely within the sovereign’s gift.

Unlike insignia such as the MBE, the cost of the RVO is funded by the Queen personally out of the Privy Purse rather than by taxpayers.

There are five ascending levels within the order and the Queen has loyally given her son the highest rank – that of Knight Grand Cross – which allows him to use the letters GCVO after his name.

Senior royal sources have told the Daily Mail that the honour was offered as a ‘thank you’ at the time of Andrew’s 51st birthday last month for the support he has given his mother and for his work since 2001 as an unpaid UK trade ambassador.

Virginia Roberts claimed that she was flown by Jeffrey Epstein to London to meet Prince Andrew in 2001



But the reward for the prince – nicknamed Air Miles Andy for his love of flying – is certain to raise eyebrows in the wake of controversy over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, a 58-year-old billionaire financier who is on the U.S. sex offenders’ register after he admitted soliciting teenage girls into prostitution.

In February it emerged that Andrew had stayed with Mr Epstein, who was jailed for 18 months in 2008, during a private trip to New York.

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The revelations led to questions in Parliament about Andrew’s suitability as a representative of British industry abroad and although he has clung to his post, critics argue that the prince’s public profile has been fatally damaged.

Matters have been made worse in recent weeks by further accusations that he has deliberately befriended rich and powerful foreign figureheads – particularly in Eastern Europe and the Middle East – for personal gain. This has always been vehemently denied by Buckingham Palace.

Graham Smith of anti-monarchist group Republic last night criticised the decision, saying: ‘Is there no sensitivity to public opinion?

'Prince Andrew has been embarrassing the nation for years. It’s a meaningless award but given recent revelations it is exceptionally crass.’ Highest honour: Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order

Although the Queen’s decision to make Andrew a Knight Grand Cross was publicly announced by the Palace on its website on February 21 – a day after the Epstein scandal broke – details of the actual ceremony were kept secret and made public only with a low-key announcement in yesterday’s Court Circular.

Although there are few practical benefits to the honour, recipients are entitled to wear a red, white and blue sash complete with the order’s star-shaped insignia made from sterling silver, silver-gilt and enamel.

Every four years a service is held for recipients in the The Queen’s Chapel of the Savoy on June 20, the day of Queen Victoria’s accession to the throne.

Queen's Chapel at the Savoy: The venue has hosted a service every four years since for recipients of the award...