Royal fans slam BBC for Prince Andrew's participation in Prince Philip documentary amid alleged sexual abuse scandal

Prince Andrew's participation in Prince Philip documentary to commemorate his legacy has been met by strong backlash from the public. 

• Prince Andrew's participation in BBC One's documentary Prince Philip: The Royal Family remembers has been met by strong criticism. 
• The Duke of York, who is currently being sued by Virginia Giuffre over sexual assault allegations, appeared alongside fellow Royal Family members to pay tribute to his late father in the poignant documentary. 
• In other royal news, Lady Louise Windsor becomes the 'royal family's secret weapon' as she makes her TV debut.
  

Prince Andrew joined the rest of the Queen's children on Wednesday to honor his late father in BBC One's documentary Prince Philip: The Royal Family remembers—and not everyone is happy about it. 

The Duke of York's appearance in the tribute program, which was originally commissioned to celebrate Prince Philip's 100th birthday, comes just one day after he was served a lawsuit in the US regarding rape and battery allegations. The 61-year-old prince, who is is reportedly hiding out at Balmoral Castle in Scotland, has been accused by Virginia Giuffre of sexually assaulting her in New York in 2001 when she was 17. The American-Australian woman is now seeking unspecified damages from Prince Andrew, who vehemently denies all allegations. 

Giuffre's legal team has sent papers to Andrew's Royal Lodge at Windsor to notify him of the civil court case, but it appears the Duke has no plans to leave the Highlands any time soon. 

“Andrew has made it quite clear that he wasn't leaving Balmoral,” an inside source told the Sun. “It would appear the advice to him was to stay in hiding.” He even chose to miss the birth of Princess Beatrice's first child last weekend in order to maintain this low profile, opting to stay at the remote Scottish residence rather than accompany his daughter in London. 

With so much controversy surrounding the Duke, it's no surprise his participation in last night's documentary sparked such outrage. Prince Andrew contributed a number of memories of Prince Philip in the hour-long program, including an insight into his late father's work environment. 

"His study was run like the bridge of a ship because the bridge of a ship is very well organized," he said. "Everything was within reach." 

Andrew also shared his earliest memory of his father, which involved "him reading stories to us here at the castle [Windsor Castle]." He also revealed that Philip taught him and his siblings "all sorts of sports", including how to swim, how to drive, and how to play badminton. 

While his interviews were noticeably short, many viewers felt it was inappropriate for him to feature in the program at all. Several people took to Twitter to criticize the prince and to condemn BBC for greenlighting his inclusion. 

"Andrew really doesn't have any shame, perhaps that's why he doesn't sweat," one person on Twitter wrote, referring to the Duke's bizarre claims about his perspiration in his 2019 BBC interview with Emily Maitlis. Andrew infamously dismissed Giuffre's allegations that he was "sweating profusely" whilst dancing with her by insisting he suffers from a condition that prevents him from perspiring. 

"Who on earth let Prince Andrew on this? I know he’s Prince Philip’s kid but f**king hell," another person wrote. 

"Turned off the BBC tribute to Prince Philip—whom I had no problem with and thought amusing—in utter disgust that they included the supposedly withdrawn from public life friend of pedophiles, despots, and dictators Prince Andrew. What a shocking decision to include him now," one particularly astonished viewer said. 

Prince Andrew appeared alongside his siblings, Prince Charles, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, as well as his two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, for the poignant tribute. Prince William and Prince Harry were also interviewed for the documentary, marking their first joint television project in years.