'Smirking' Black Sheep: Prince Andrew 'Super Happy' to Lead Royals During King Charles' Sickness

Prince Andrew was "smirking" and appeared to be "gloating" as he led members of the British royal family at King Constantine II's memorial service earlier this week.

"Andrew would have been super happy," a close pal of the disgraced Duke spilled. "He loves all of this pomp. He may not be a working royal, but he’s always believed that he is a valid and important member of the royal family, and nothing has changed."

The Duke of York made a rare appearance outside of his house when he attended the somber event on Tuesday, February 27. The Duke of York, along with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, were easily spotted leading the way through the congregation at St George's Chapel near Windsor Castle. Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie accompanied their parents to the solemn event, where one royal source claimed that Andrew "went out of his way" to appear on camera.

William, Prince of Wales, made headlines at the event when he backed out at the last minute for "personal reasons." The future king was the godson of the deceased sovereign, who held his title of King of Greece in exile after the ancient nation abolished the monarchy in 1973.

Queen Camilla arrived as the main representative for the British royal family, as King Charles was unable to attend due to his ongoing cancer treatments. But even more headlines chose to focus on the lack of senior royals readily available for any event.

"You have Harry and Meghan, who are serving themselves — not his country — while the Gloucesters are getting nothing out of it but are working hard," royal historian Hugo Vickers told an outlet while pointing out that the King pushed the "slimmed-down monarchy" in what one royal source called "some kind of misjudged bid" to remain popular.

"Going back to the Trooping the Colour, it was the one day every year when the late queen invited her extended family to join her on the balcony at Buckingham Palace — so the man on the street thought they were paying taxes for all of them,” Vickers added. "In reality, only the queen and Prince Philip were paid for directly by the taxpayer."

He continued: "The Prince and Princess of Wales are supported by the Duchy of Cornwall [a private estate]; the queen paid for all the rest of them. However, the optics were wrong, so the king went for a slimmed-down monarchy."

With this in mind, what "junior royals" could be called to become seniors is the question numerous royal analysts are asking themselves.

"We’ve got a h--- of a time to wait for Princess Charlotte to step forward,” one royal source said, "and she’s bound to be the saving grace of the monarchy."

"It seems unlikely it will be Beatrice and Eugenie... [Princess Anne’s] children could help, but are not even titled royals," another insider shared.

Page Six reported on the insider opinions.