Palace Allegedly Tried To Stop Photographer From Taking Queen, Prince Andrew Photos; Twitter Reacts

The palace initially instructed rota photographer Richard Pohle only to take photos once Queen Elizabeth II was seated during Prince Philip's funeral service. He later learned that it was because she was being escorted by her controversial son, Prince Andrew.

Pohle was the only photographer inside the Westminster Abbey during Prince Philip's special thanksgiving memorial service last week. The palace allegedly instructed him never to take photos until the Queen was seated. He disagreed because he knew that the Queen's arrival would make the headlines. At the time, he was not aware that the Duke of York would be escorting Her Majesty to the event.

"'I absolutely need to photograph this,' I said. The arrival of the Queen was now the major news event. I could see them wavering, but they repeated that the no picture order 'came from the top' and that 'it wasn’t up to them,'" Pohle wrote for The Sunday Times.

"I pointed out that the BBC was carrying the whole event live. Would the palace order them not to film? I was responsible for still photography for the entire media and would be in a hell of a lot of trouble if there was blanket TV coverage of the Queen openly showing support for Prince Andrew but no photographs."

Pohle's argument seemed to have moved the press officers because one of them made a phone call, and he was eventually given the green light to take photos of Queen Elizabeth II and her escort, Prince Andrew.

Twitter users have mixed opinions after learning about how Pohle was instructed by the palace. They speculated that he was instructed to wait so that the Queen would not be photographed with the disgraced royal because they were not seated together. Meanwhile, some shared Pohle's perspective and said it made no sense since the BBC was also broadcasting the event live. Others even found it funny because the palace won't be able to control the public from not seeing the Queen with Prince Andrew.

"Like for [an] official photo or something?…but it was televised. I don’t think it matters what the officials say.. there’s literally a video of them walking together," one commented.

"Because 'if there aren't any photos, then it didn't happen,'" another sarcastically stated.

"The service was screened live for all the world to see. What difference would a photo make[?] What a bull crap non-story," another added with laughing emojis.

The photos of the Queen with her controversial son raised eyebrows. Several netizens slammed the monarch and the royal family for giving Prince Andrew the spotlight at the memorial service. There were rumors that the Duke of York demanded to be the Queen's escort, but royal commentator Robert Jobson debunked them.

"The Queen made her decision for her own reasons. She was not bullied into [it] by Andrew," Jobson tweeted last Thursday. "She asked him to accompany her, and if the Queen asks you to do something, it is not a request."

The "Prince Philip's Century" author also told People earlier that the Queen chose Prince Andrew as her escort because "he doesn't have a partner" and she "has faith in Andrew."