King’s statement on former Prince Andrew’s arrest shows how grave this crisis is for U.K. royals
LONDON — King Charles III generally does not sign his name on statements about his brother. Thursday was different.
The king’s response to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest – swift, personal and speaking directly to the British public – showed just how serious this crisis is for Britain’s 1,000-year-old royal family.
Charles said there must be a “full, fair and proper” investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor, who was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in relation to his friendship with the late sex offender and financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“Let me say this clearly: the law must take its course,” Charles said, adding that the investigation would have “our full support and cooperation.” During this time, he added, “my family and I will continue our duty and service to all of you. Charles R.”
Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. He was arrested but not charged with any offence.
Meanwhile, the monarchy’s popularity continued to decline, notably following the death of beloved Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.
In 1983, 86 percent of Britons said it was “very important” or “somewhat important” to continue to have a monarchy, according to a poll by the nonprofit National Center for Social Research. Last year, this figure had fallen to 51%.
“It is an extraordinary moment, unprecedented in modern times, that the king’s brother has been arrested for a serious criminal offence,” said Craig Prescott, an expert on the constitutional and political role of the monarchy at Royal Holloway, University of London. “I really can’t think of a close parallel to that.”
Previously, the controversy surrounding Mountbatten-Windsor centered on accusations from Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who claimed the former prince sexually assaulted her when she was 17 after being trafficked by Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor reached a settlement with Giuffre for an undisclosed amount in 2021, but denied having sex with her.
His arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office takes the reputational and constitutional risk for his family to another level. Royal historians have scoured archives for historical precedents, and many believe the last royal arrest involved King Charles I, who was beheaded for treason in 1649.
Princess Anne, sister of Charles and Mountbatten-Windsor, was convicted in 2002 after her dog bit two children in a park. But it was a much less serious offense (misconduct in public office carries a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted) and she was never arrested in connection with it.
Ed Owens, author and royal historian, compared the arrest to a “bomb” that “exploded early in King Charles’s reign and created a major problem for the new king.”
For years, the Firm, as the royal family is sometimes called, attempted to cauterize the wound created by the Epstein scandal, taking steps to reprimand Mountbatten-Windsor as more details about her relationship with Epstein emerged. In 2019 he withdrew from public duties, in 2022 the Queen stripped him of many of his military protections and affiliations, and last year he was stripped of his princely title and ordered to leave his residence.
Despite these attempts “to draw a thick, dark line” between the family and the prince, there remains “a very important and open question that could come out of the investigation,” Prescott said.
