Protester who shouted abuse at Prince Andrew has been charged by police

The protester who shouted abuse at Prince Andrew during a procession of the Queen's coffin in Edinburgh has been arrested and charged.

The 22-year-old heckled Prince Andrew as the royal family member walked with his siblings behind his mother's coffin on Monday (12 September) as it was moved to St Giles' Cathedral from the Palace of Holyroodhouse.

Footage shows the man being yanked back by bystanders after shouting, "Andrew you're a sick, old man," as the Queen's coffin made its way past.

Members of the public pulled the man to the ground before he was arrested by police, though footage shows the man arguing he'd 'done nothing wrong'.

A spokesman for Police Scotland said: “A 22-year-old man was arrested and charged in connection with a breach of the peace on the Royal Mile around 2.50pm on Monday, September 12.

“He was released on an undertaking to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date and a report will be sent to the procurator fiscal.”

Ian Hinchliffe / Alamy Stock Photo

Police have not made any other arrests, and would not confirm if any inquiries into the incident were ongoing. Following the incident, the man was released on an undertaking to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date.

News of the arrest comes after Sir Mark Rowley, Scotland Yard's new commissioner, described the upcoming funeral for the Queen as 'a massive challenge to the Metropolitan Police and to [him] personally'.

Millions of members of the public are expected to travel to England's capital to see the Queen's body lying in state and to be in the area for her funeral, which is set to take place on 19 September. There will also be a number of foreign heads of state who come to pay their respects.

Tommy London / Alamy Stock Photo

Rowley said the Met has been preparing for the event for 'many, many years', adding: "There are some very diligent and determined people who put a lot of effort into this. I have a lot of trust and confidence in the fantastic police officers who are going to support this event.

"We are going to be putting thousands of officers into this because of the level of security required and the millions of people whom want to pay their respects."

Members of the public will be able to see the Queen lying in state in Westminster from tomorrow, 14 September, and 10 Downing Street has revealed the Army will be 'on hand' to assist as the area is flooded with visitors.

Topics: UK News, The Queen, Crime

Emily Brown

Emily Brown is the Community Desk Lead at LADbible Group. Emily first began delivering news when she was just 11 years old - with a paper route. She went on to graduate with a BA Hons in English Language in the Media from Lancaster University before contributing to The Sunday Times Travel Magazine and Student Problems. She joined UNILAD in 2018 to cover breaking news, trending stories and longer form features, and now works as Community Desk Lead to commission and write human interest stories from across the globe.