As statements from Buckingham Palace go, it was extraordinary. While the Prince of Wales met Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Saudi Arabia, courtiers back in London were busy working with the King to put together a response to the outrage over Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
The result was a statement issued via WhatsApp for immediate release. It said: “The King has made clear, in words and through unprecedented actions, his profound concern at allegations which continue to come to light in respect of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct.
“While the specific claims in question are for Mr Mountbatten-Windsor to address, if we are approached by Thames Valley police we stand ready to support them as you would expect.”
The “unprecedented actions” referred to Charles stripping his brother of his royal titles in October.
Back then, the Palace gave a statement in which the King and Queen expressed sympathy for victims of Jeffrey Epstein. It had clearly hoped to put Andrew’s disgrace in the past, often pointing back to the statement. But the revelations kept coming.
When Andrew was seen out grinning and waving while horse riding and driving after some of the more tawdry headlines, his removal from Royal Lodge was accelerated.
Andrew riding at Windsor on January 26
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One source said anger within the Palace had reached the stage “where you want to rip the curtains right off the wall”. This prompted Andrew’s night-time flit from Windsor to Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate.
However, more information continues to surface from the latest Epstein files released by the US Department of Justice. On Monday the King expressed his “profound concern” over more allegations about Andrew’s conduct, including reports that he appeared to have used his position in the royal family and within government as a trade envoy to share sensitive information with Epstein.
It is not known whether the King ran Monday’s statement past William before releasing it but, given that William was having an “intimate” dinner with Mohammed at the time, it seems unlikely. For many of those travelling with William, it certainly seemed to come as a surprise. William’s spokesman had already addressed journalists that morning in Riyadh.
William with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh on Monday
CHRIS JACKSON/REUTERS
Kensington Palace said the Prince and Princess of Wales were “deeply concerned by the continuing revelations”, but all the concern expressed by the King and his heir — no matter how “deep” or “profound” — will not stop the outrage over Andrew’s conduct, which appears to have been taking place while he was paid from the public purse and was, quite possibly, acting against the interests of the British people.
On Tuesday, the second day of William’s visit to Saudi Arabia, a British broadcast journalist shouted across a football pitch in Riyadh as William met an all-female team. “Sir, to what extent do you think the royal family has done enough around the Andrew and Epstein scandal?” It is not clear whether William heard the question, which was shouted twice.
The King, Queen, William and Kate have all been heckled about Andrew during public engagements, and not only by the public.
Ro Khanna, a Democratic congressman from California and one of the architects of the Epstein Files Transparency Act, has said that revelations in the Epstein files could “bring down the British monarchy”.
Ro Khanna, right, and the Republican Thomas Massie speak to reporters about the Epstein files
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The royal family will not wish to answer questions thrown from the sidelines, but the questions remain. What did they know about Andrew and Epstein and — crucially — when? Will the Palace’s meticulous security records show when Epstein visited the various royal residences, and what he did there?
Will we know whether Andrew’s emails have been checked by Palace staff, or whether any internal investigation into his relationship with Epstein was ever done? And if it was not, why not?
Andrew has always denied wrongdoing, but why was the Palace always so quick to accept his timeline of events which has now been shown to be wrong? Given the amount of public money that goes into running the Palace, taxpayers will feel that they have the right to know.
William says that he wants to “change” the institution of the monarchy, running his own office more like a business by seeking to appoint a chief executive. It is understood that Charles has been robust on Andrew and that William is supportive of his father, while also urging caution about his uncle’s mental health.
No father and son see eye to eye on every topic, but Charles and William may find it better to work together now to find a way through this mess. In an era of increased transparency and reduced reverence, this is uncharted territory for the institution. If the police are examining Andrew’s association with Epstein, the Palace should be doing the same.
In fairness to Charles, it is a problem he inherited along with the crown. The late Queen Elizabeth had a soft spot for Andrew — or, as many courtiers see it, a blind spot. Charles is more clear-eyed.
Andrew at the King’s coronation in 2023
TOBY MELVILLE/AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Unlike politicians, who often blame the previous administration, Charles finds himself in a tricky spot. He cannot undermine his late mother’s legacy but he does need to protect the institution in this new Carolean era.
In a world where the public expects and demands more transparency — as Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has noted with the unprompted release of his WhatsApp messages to Lord Mandelson — the Palace must respond.
Walter Bagehot said that the mystique of monarchy must be preserved so as not to “let daylight in upon the magic”. It well be, though, that after the Epstein scandal daylight is precisely the disinfectant needed to remove the tarnish left by Andrew and his abhorrent friendship with a paedophile.
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