The royals have been issuing statements connected to Andrew Mountbatten Windsor‘s friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein (denying allegations of sleeping with trafficked teenagers) as far back as 2015 – now, there’s been a noted shift in tone from the Palace.

This week, a spokesperson 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.”

But is that enough to save the monarchy from complete disrepair? According to some senior US government officials (and members of the public), it may not be.

Ro Khanna, part of the committee investigating the Epstein scandal, called on King Charles and Queen Camilla to step forward and give evidence, as well as Andrew, saying this could be “the end of the monarchy”.

In a Sky News interview, Khanna said, “I think this is the most vulnerable the British monarchy has ever been. They ought to ask the King and Queen questions and maybe this will be the end of the monarchy.”

He continued, “If they don’t have answers, if they’re implicated in the Epstein class, it’s not a good look for the British monarchy. The King has to answer what he knew, what he knew about Andrew, and just stripping Andrew of a title is not enough.

“Andrew needs to come before our committee and start answering questions. I don’t think the appropriate punishment is you no longer get to be a prince. There’s got to be more than that.”

The King and Queen were heckled about Andrew, and how much they knew about his involvement with Epstein, during a visit to Dedham, an Essex village, last week, showing some members of the public appear to feel similarly.

Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales, also issued an unexpected statement in connection to the Epstein files this week, ahead of William’s visit to Saudi Arabia. A spokesperson said: “I can confirm the Prince and Princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focussed on the victims.”

Speaking towards the end of last year, royal biographer and former Vanity Fair editor, Tina Brown, pointed out many are also questioning the late Queen Elizabeth II’s role in protecting Andrew following the initial allegations of wrongdoing.

Queen Elizabeth and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in 2017

“The fact is that she has quite a lot to answer for with Andrew, is the truth,” Brown suggested. “Because The Queen enabled Andrew in a really terrible way. He was her favourite. She protected him and mommy was his only client, essentially. She was the one who protected him so, unfortunately, it made him worse.”

Elsewhere, the Norwegian royal family has also been criticised over its connections to Epstein: the Crown Princess, Mette-Marit, had correspondence exposed in the recent Epstein files release. Mette-Marit’s son (whose father is someone she had a relationship with prior to marrying into the royal family), Magnus, has also been on trial for rape in recent weeks.

Mette-Marit issued a statement saying she has the “deepest regret for my friendship with Jeffrey Epstein” and apologised for “the situation that I have put the royal family in, especially the King and Queen.”

Will the monarchy be able to survive yet another scandal of this intensity?

 Jennifer Savin is Cosmopolitan UK’s multiple award-winning Features Editor, who was crowned Digital Journalist of the Year for her work tackling the issues most important to young women. She regularly covers breaking news, cultural trends, health, the royals and more, using her esteemed connections to access the best experts along the way. She’s grilled everyone from high-profile politicians to A-list celebrities, and has sensitively interviewed hundreds of people about their real life stories. In addition to this, Jennifer is widely known for her own undercover investigations and campaign work, which includes successfully petitioning the government for change around topics like abortion rights and image-based sexual abuse. Jennifer is also a published author, documentary consultant (helping to create BBC’s Deepfake Porn: Could You Be Next?) and a patron for Y.E.S. (a youth services charity). Alongside Cosmopolitan, Jennifer has written for The Times, Women’s Health, ELLE and numerous other publications, appeared on podcasts, and spoken on (and hosted) panels for the Women of the World Festival, the University of Manchester and more. In her spare time, Jennifer is a big fan of lipstick, leopard print and over-ordering at dinner. Follow Jennifer on Instagram, X or LinkedIn.