Prince Andrew's Attempted Comeback Tells World British People 'Are Fools'

Prince Andrew's expected appearance at Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee "says to the rest of the world that the British people are fools," a prominent U.K. activist told Newsweek.

The Duke of York's reputation is rock bottom in Britain with a net approval rating of -80, with just five percent of the country viewing him positively and 85 percent viewing him negatively, according to YouGov.

Yet he may be set to overshadow a key part of the Queen's celebration of her 70-year reign in the same way that he snatched headlines when he appeared at Prince Philip's memorial service in March.

However, this time the eyes of the world will be watching as the jubilee not only lifts spirits in Britain but also serves as an advertisement for the country on the global stage.

Shola Mos-Shogbamimu, a prominent activist on race and gender in Britain, said Prince Andrew's expected participation in the celebrations "says to the rest of the world that the British people are fools. Because the only reason the monarchy can do that and get away with it is because they think that we are fools.

"It's almost like, we are better than you, we are higher than you, we are richer than you, whatever we say is what's going to go," she told Newsweek.

"If the British people said 'hell no,' there is no queen who would say, 'no, no, no, you must do what I say'.

"But they know that some people will say, 'well, it's all about the Platinum Jubilee, let's not shake the waters because its all about the queen'."

It all comes months after Andrew settled with Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre out of court, paying an undisclosed sum widely reported to be in the millions or tens of millions of dollars.

Prince Andrew was accused of rape in a civil lawsuit while court filings by Giuffre's team said she was made to have sex with him when she was a 17-year-old trafficking victim. The duke denied the allegations.

The Church of England found itself at the center of a backlash following comments by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, who told ITV News the queen was "probably the most trusted person in the country," is "very self-aware" and will lift spirits with her jubilee.

However, headline writers had far less to say about Elizabeth's positive attributes than they did about the clergyman's suggestion that Andrew was seeking to make amends over Epstein.

Welby said: "I think for all of us, one of the ways that we celebrate when we come together is in learning to be a more open and forgiving society.

"Now with Prince Andrew, I think we all have to step back a bit. He's seeking to make amends and I think that's a very good thing.

"But you can't tell people how they're to respond about this. And the issues of the past in the area of abuse are so intensely personal and private for so many people."

Such was the instant backlash against the church, that the archbishop's representatives at Lambeth Palace issued a statement clarifying that his comments on forgiveness were not intended to apply to the prince.

A spokesperson said: "In his ITV News interview, the Archbishop was not referring specifically to Prince Andrew when he said we must become a more forgiving society.

"He was making a broader point about the kind of society that he hopes the Platinum Jubilee inspires us to be."

In March, the prince overshadowed Philip's memorial service when his high-profile role escorting the queen to her seat at Westminster Abbey made U.K. newspaper front pages.

Nigel Cawthorne, who wrote biography Prince Andrew: Epstein, Maxwell and the Palace, told Newsweek: "How is Prince Andrew making amends? Is sending £10 million of his mother's money to Virginia Giuffre what he's talking about?"

He added: "It seems to me this is a repeat of what he did when he was dodging Virginia's process service and hiding behind his mother's skirt again."

Cawthorne said he was optimistic that the pageantry of the queen's jubilee would shine brighter than her wayward son but added: "He's just the maggot in the apple isn't he?"

Andrew's collapse in popularity has not so far been mirrored in attitudes to the queen.

However, there are signs that Gen Z Brits are becoming less positive about the monarchy than older generations.

YouGov polling shows opinion on whether to abolish the monarchy is narrowing among 18- to 24-year-olds.

Research between May 16 and May 17 suggested 33 percent wanted to keep the monarchy compared to 31 percent who wanted an elected head of state.

This was significantly more split than among the overall adult population, where 62 percent wanted to continue with the crown and 22 percent wanted to become a republic.

The danger for the royals is that the saga involving Prince Andrew becomes a major, or even the major, prism through which young people in the U.K. view and debate the monarchy.