King Charles distances himself from Andrew, but Britain’s royals face biggest crisis since death of Diana

By Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN

London (CNN) — The statement from King Charles was swift, and stark. The authorities have “our full and wholehearted support and co-operation,” it read, and “the law must take its course.”

Hours earlier, his brother had been arrested at his home on a private estate the monarch owns – Sandringham, north of London. Even by the standards of a family not unused to controversy, it was a stunning development.

Brief at little more than 100 words, the King’s response – in his own name – could not have been clearer. “My family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all,” it concluded. Translation: I will put my duty to the country before any residual sympathy I may have with my younger brother.

It’s understood that Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales backed the statement – the most senior royals united in the strategy.

The King’s tactics in dealing with the unfolding allegations around Andrew have stood in contrast to that of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth II.

Andrew was, reportedly, her favorite son, and critics have previously said she did not act quickly enough to hold Mountbatten-Windsor to account for the repercussions of his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Many have questioned why she allowed him to use Buckingham Palace as the location of his disastrous 2019 BBC interview in which he tried to bat away allegations of wrongdoing.
Others have asked why the late Queen reportedly provided Andrew with millions to settle the civil sexual assault lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre in 2021.

Despite the payment, Andrew always denied all of Giuffre’s allegations and said that he did not recall ever meeting her, despite having taken a photograph with her.

In contrast, King Charles has been more decisive in dealing with his brother since coming to the throne in 2022. He had reportedly been exploring options to remove Andrew from his Windsor residence long before he stripped his brother of “prince” status and evicted him from the royal estate in October.

Notably, Charles did not explicitly describe Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as his brother in the statement released on Thursday.

Neither King Charles nor the palace were given advanced warning of Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, a royal source told CNN. The arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office is of course no indication of guilt, but it marks yet another extraordinary moment in Andrew’s yearslong fall from grace.

Police say he has been released but remains under investigation. No charges have been filed.

The former prince has not publicly responded to the latest allegations to emerge after the US Department of Justice released millions of documents related to Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied all allegations of wrongdoing and said he never witnessed or suspected any of the behavior that Epstein was accused of.

He has not commented on the recent allegations of misconduct in public office.

But the events of Thursday, which began with a convoy of unmarked police vehicles arriving early at Andrew’s temporary lodgings on the Sandringham Estate on his 66th birthday, have left the British royal family staring down one of its biggest crises in decades.

In some ways, the development was shocking but not entirely surprising, given the growing weight of the allegations against Andrew, which have cast a heavy shadow over the entire family for years.

The palace said plainly last week that Charles would support authorities in their inquiries. If asked, that means that the palace could allow the police to access any internal communications between Andrew and others.

Charles and Andrew are not thought to have been particularly close growing up, given their 11-year age gap. The King is known to have a stronger bond with his sister, Princess Anne.

The brothers were perhaps closest in the 1980s after Charles married Diana and Andrew tied the knot with Sarah Ferguson, as the two women were known to be good friends.

“Although the relationship has been more distant in recent years, when they were younger they were part of the royal family together, knew each other quite well and their families were close,” royal historian Kate Williams told CNN.

She also said that the family now has “a huge problem on their hands, and it’s separating themselves from Andrew.”

She expects the public might demand further accountability from the King and the wider family moving forward.

“The question is going to be asked increasingly, ‘What did Charles know?’ And I think people are going to start saying, ‘What did William know?’” Williams said. “This is going to be the biggest challenge that the royal family has had on their hands since the death of Diana.”

Royal commentator Sandro Monetti said “the Andrew issue has, and will, come to define King Charles’ entire reign.”

“Despite all of the things that have been stripped away from Andrew, I would point out that he is still eighth in line to the throne,” Monetti added, before suggesting that calls for this to change may be heard in Parliament in the coming days.

“The actions of which he’s accused put the entire future of the monarchy at risk,” he said.

The-CNN-Wire
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