Prince William, King Charles and Queen Camilla Face Protesters at Royal Service in Scotland

Meredith KileWed, July 1, 2026 at 7:56 PM UTC

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King Charles and Queen Camilla depart the Thistle Service at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh on July 1, 2026Credit: Jane Barlow - WPA Pool/Getty -

King Charles, Queen Camilla and Prince William were met by anti-monarchy protests in Scotland

The royals were attending the Order of the Thistle service at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh

Outside the building, protesters held signs reading "Not My King" and "What Did You Know?" seemingly in reference to the former Prince Andrew's connections to Jeffrey Epstein

Members of the British royal family were met once again with public protests this week.

King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William, Prince Edward and more royals attended the Order of the Thistle service at St. Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh, Scotland, on Wednesday, July 1. Outside the building, anti-monarchy protesters held signs that read "Not My King" and "What Did You Know?" seemingly in reference to the former Prince Andrew and his connections to Jeffrey Epstein.

Similar protests have recently occurred at the Trooping the Colour parade in June and Commonwealth Day service in March. At the latter, Princess Anne was seen seeming to tell her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, "Don't listen to them, ignore them," the Daily Mail reported.

Protesters outside the Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey on March 9, 2026Credit: Samir Hussein/WireImage

These latest protests came just one day after Andrew, 66, quietly attended his first public event since February, joining Edward, 62, and his wife, Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, at the Sandringham Horse Driving Trials on June 30. Sophie, 61, is currently the president of the club, which was founded by Andrew and Edward's father, the late Prince Philip.

According to The Sun, Andrew kept a low profile at the event, staying away from the main area as he watched his sister-in-law compete.

"Andrew sneaked in and sneaked out and definitely didn’t want to be seen," an onlooker told the outlet.

Photos from the event showed that Andrew still had the fading remnants of a mysterious bruise on his right cheek. The King's brother debuted the bruise earlier last month. A source told the Daily Mail the mystery mark was no "cause for concern," with TheSun adding that it's understood to have been caused by medication, such as blood thinners.

A protester holds a photo of the former Prince Andrew outside Buckingham Palace following King Charles' Trooping the Colour parade in London on June 13, 2026Credit: JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP via Getty

King Charles stripped Andrew's royal titles in October 2025 as his ties to Epstein, a convicted sex trafficker, came under renewed scrutiny, as the U.S. Department of Justice released thousands of pages of evidence, including multiple mentions and photos of Andrew.

The former Duke of York first lost his military titles and patronages in 2022, after he attempted to have a sexual assault lawsuit filed against him by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre dismissed. The following month, he settled with Giuffre out of court for an undisclosed sum. Giuffre died by suicide on April 24, 2025.

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Andrew has denied all wrongdoing regarding his ties to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges.

However, the former Duke of York was arrested on Feb. 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office, linked to allegations that he improperly shared information with Epstein while working as an envoy for the British government, but unrelated to the sexual assault allegations.

Following his brother's arrest, the King released a brief statement: “I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office… Let me state clearly: The law must take its course.”

Ailsa Anderson, former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth, told PEOPLE at the time that the King's choice of words was a deliberate way of "distancing himself.”

“That reverence people once had for the royal family is disappearing," she said. "This is the damage Andrew has done.”

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Earlier this year, royal biographer Andrew Lownie told PEOPLE that the King's son and heir, Prince William, is seen as favoring a tougher approach when it comes to cutting Andrew out of the royal family.

“William wants it all cleaned out before he gets [on the throne],” Lownie told PEOPLE. “He wants it dealt with now.”

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