Prince William stirs controversy as he drives Prince Andrew to Balmoral church

Prince William raised eyebrows and had tongues wagging after he was photographed driving Prince Andrew to church as the royals spend the summer holidays in Balmoral. Some reminded him to be wary of the company he keeps for the sake of his reputation while others shared their dismay at seeing him showing his support for his uncle after he failed to personally cheer for the Lionesses at the recent FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia.

Photos emerged online of the Prince of Wales in the driver's seat, the Duke of York beside him in the passenger's seat, and Kate Middleton at the back, as they headed to Balmoral church for mass. Royal experts claimed that it was a show of unity despite continued criticism against the former working royal, with Richard Fitzwilliams telling GB News that they are "sending out a message that they are enjoying the summer holidays as a family."

But over on X formerly Twitter, netizens were divided, with some bringing up his absence in Australia. Some claimed Prince William would rather show his support for an alleged paedophile than to the Lionesses.

One accused the royal family of being "tone deaf" and "lacking in judgement" saying that the future king "couldn't be ars*d to go and watch Women's World Cup final, but is happy to share a car ride to church, with his disgraced pizza loving uncle Prince Andrew. No second chance for him!"

Another sarcastically commented, "The reason Pedo Prince Andrew traveled to church with Prince William and Kate Middleton in the same car is that William was the only one who cared about the environment. It's no different than #WorkshyWilly didn't travel to the women's World Cup."

Meanwhile, there were those who also criticised Kate Middleton for choosing to share the car ride with Prince Andrew. They compared it to reports about her admission that her walkabout with Meghan Markle during Queen Elizabeth II's funeral services was the "hardest thing she's ever had to do."

Another wrote, "At this time when we're thinking if we even want a monarchy Prince William needs to be careful about the moral standards he's representing..."

Regardless, there were also those who defended Prince William saying it was a private family event and they were there in Balmoral as a family. Prince Andrew is still part of the royal family even though he retreated from public life in 2019 and was stripped of his royal patronages and military titles in 2022, because of accusations he sexually abused Virginia Roberts Giuffre when she was a 17. He denied the allegations but paid her a settlement instead to avoid going to court.

Meanwhile, Prince William recently caught flak for not flying to Australia to support the Lionesses given he is the president of England's Football Association for nearly 20 years. He sent a video message instead to show his support.