Prince William cut short any interaction with his uncle Prince Andrew after the former duke appeared cheerful during Tuesday’s Requiem Mass for the Duchess of Kent at Westminster Cathedral. Standing beside his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, Andrew, 66, drew a sharp glance from William, 43, sources close to the family told the Press Association.

Video showed William looking uneasy as Andrew tried to chat. A lip reader interpreted Andrew saying, ‘We had a lovely time, didn’t we, then?’ and later, ‘And spending time with us.’ William stayed silent, thin-lipped, rubbing his nose and rocking on his heels. He then covered his mouth, seemingly telling Andrew to stop smiling. Andrew’s grin faded immediately.

A royal insider said William spoke behind his hand to avoid cameras. ‘He knew it might not look good,’ the source told the Daily Mail. The moment underscored William’s role in pushing Andrew out of royal duties. Historian Andrew Lownie said William acted ruthlessly to shield his cancer-stricken father, King Charles, and protect the monarchy’s image.

Kate, the Princess of Wales, also kept her distance. Body language expert Judi James observed Kate turning her head to avoid Ferguson after the service. ‘Her closed hand and unsmiling expression signal no desire to engage,’ James told the Mail. James called Kate the Firm’s ‘protective huntress,’ warding off attention for her husband.

The funeral came amid Andrew’s legal troubles. Police arrested him on his 66th birthday Thursday at Wood Farm on King Charles’s Norfolk estate. Plainclothes officers raided at 8 a.m., holding him 11 hours at Aylsham station before release under investigation. The charge: misconduct in public office for allegedly passing sensitive information to Jeffrey Epstein while UK trade envoy.

Thames Valley Police confirmed searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk. The rare offense carries a possible life sentence and jury trial. Andrew faces no formal charges yet.

King Charles, 77, called it the monarchy’s biggest crisis in nearly 400 years. In a personal statement, he voiced ‘deepest concern’ and pledged full cooperation with investigators. ‘The law must take its course,’ Charles said from his private Norfolk estate, where Andrew had been exiled after losing his Duke of York title last year.

William and Kate back the king’s stance, the Press Association reported. Lownie credited William with driving the title stripping, despite Charles delivering the final order. ‘William is more ruthless than his father,’ Lownie said. ‘He sees the reputational damage.’

Ferguson faced her own scrutiny days before the funeral. The Mail on Sunday revealed her 2011 email to Epstein calling him her ‘supreme friend’ and apologizing for letting him down. She lost seven charity patronages. Ferguson said she wrote it to shield daughters Beatrice and Eugenie after a ‘chilling’ Epstein call. Kate’s avoidance predated that report, James noted, with Kate using peripheral vision to track Ferguson without engaging.

No comment has come from Ferguson, Beatrice or Eugenie. Police visited Royal Lodge in Berkshire and returned to Andrew’s Norfolk home early Friday. Andrew was photographed cowering in a car leaving the station around 7 p.m. Thursday.

The family rift deepened after Andrew’s Epstein ties surfaced. He settled a U.S. civil suit in 2022 and lied about cutting contact, prompting his ouster. William’s funeral rebuke and Kate’s snub laid bare the Waleses’ sentiments toward the disgraced prince.