Scandal, royalty and justice

United Kingdom’s royal family got roiled in a scandal lately and it opened up for justice to take its course. The younger brother of King Charles and reportedly the favourite son of the late Queen Elizabeth, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, got arrested and “released under investigation” by the British police in connection with his ties to American sex offender, the late Jeffrey Epstein. His royal blood did not count to keep him out of the reach of justice, making him the first member of the British royal family to be taken into police custody in modern times.

Association with Epstein became a taboo, having been accused of building a network of hundreds of girls and young women for sexual exploitation. Many of the victims were made to travel around with him and stay at his private island in the Caribbean. Epstein was initially sentenced to 18-month imprisonment in 2008 after pleading guilty to state charges – one count of soliciting prostitution and one count of soliciting prostitution from someone under the age of 18. He was in custody once again awaiting trial on federal charges for trafficking minors for sex when he died in a New York jail cell in 2019 – by suicide according to authorities.

Andrew’s arrest came weeks after the release of files by the United States government relating to Epstein’s sex abuse case, which revealed deep ties between the disgraced financier and the former Duke of York. Documents indicated that Andrew, who previously served as UK’s trade envoy, shared government information with Epstein.

Millions of files related to Epstein were released by Washington  over the past two months after Congress passed a law compelling the administration of President Donald Trump to make them public. The files, which included emails and text messages, showed that Epstein maintained friendship and business relations with rich and powerful people across the world. Documents and photos suggested that some of Epstein’s associates participated in, or at least were aware of, his sex abuse ring. One picture showed Andrew crouched over a female victim who was lying flat on the floor. He denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein’s sex crimes, though.

The royal family is Britain’s sovereign family and, in principle, superintends over British law; but it isn’t by that reason above the law. Andrew’s arrest pitches him on the polar end of the law with his elder brother, King Charles III, who has withheld from interfering with the due process of justice. The king expressed “deepest concern” over the arrest of his brother, but said the law must be allowed to take its course.

“What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation,” King Charles said in a statement to the British public after the arrest of his brother. Stressing that “the law must take its course,” he added: “As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter. Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.”

Royal watchers said it must have been a difficult personal moment for the king to set such public distance between himself and his younger brother, who he calls with some formality “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.” But the point is that the law pays no heed to rank or royalty, and no one is above its reach. Apparently for effect, the king has no intention of appearing shamed by Andrew’s mention in the Epstein scandal and is going to keep on attending events. According to royal sources, he won’t be avoiding the public and will carry on with business as usual. 

Embattled Andrew has for some while been a blacklisted royal and has been at odds particularly with the king. He was stripped of royal title last year and is no longer designated a prince. King Charles, in recent history, has been treading a balancing act of disciplining his wayward brother while at the same time providing him some care. Some 18 months ago, the king moved to eject Andrew from Royal Lodge, his former mansion in Windsor, when his involvement with Epstein became a public issue. It became such unsubtle effort that it was dubbed the ‘Siege of Royal Lodge,’ as the king financially cut off his brother in the bid to eject him from residence.

“Where law and accountability are concerned, there must be no sacred cows”

 

Andrew was ultimately forced out by the storm that followed the release of the Epstein files. But Charles also stepped in to provide him with a private home at Sandringham estate in Norfolk, at the king’s expense rather than from the public purse – something that royal watchers described as a delicate obligation of the king having a duty to care for his brother while safeguarding the honour of the royal family. Now, he gives Andrew an allowance besides a roof over his head.

Years earlier, that is in January 2022, Andrew was stripped of his key military titles and royal patronages in the midst of a civil sexual abuse case filed by one of Epstein’s most prominent victims, the late Virginia Giuffre. He strongly denied the allegation, and a month later, he settled the lawsuit with Giuffre for an undisclosed amount. The prince was stripped of the remainder of his titles in late 2025, after additional allegations by Giuffre (who died in April 2025) came to light in her posthumous memoir. Amid growing scrutiny, he moved out of his Windsor residence, Royal Lodge, in early February and currently lives at Sandringham.

What compounds the issue of Andrew for the king, according to royal watchers, is the need to be mindful of his health and psychological wellbeing, given how shell-shocked and haunted he looked in photographs taken after he was released from police custody. Meanwhile, there’s a delicate threshold, namely the concern that looking after Andrew is not misconstrued as attempts to shield him from scrutiny.

Reports said the sibling dysfunction dated back to the childhood days of King Charles and his kid brother, Andrew, under the reign of their mother, the late Queen Elizabeth. Andrew was the loud and outgoing type whereas Charles was the thoughtful and introspective older brother carrying the weight of responsibility as heir. When Andrew was first mooted for the role of trade envoy in the early 20s, Charles reportedly warned about his unsuitability but was not heeded. He, however, couldn’t do more than advise at the time, and the late queen went ahead to tap Andrew for the job in consultations with ministers. The trade envoy role ended badly in 2011 because of Andrew’s associations with Jeffrey Epstein.

The 2025 sibling face-off followed the emergence of emails showing that he had stayed in touch with Epstein long after he claimed to have cut ties. That scandal forced Charles, who assumed the throne following the death of Queen Elizabeth in 2022, to move against the younger brother by ejecting him from royal residence, stripping him of royal title and sacking him from royal duties – measures that royal watchers said were much tougher than might have been anticipated.

The scandal dogging Andrew is a liability to the royal family because the royals are regarded as poster persons of British morality and sublime values. But when the king was launching a pet film project about the environment recently, it got drowned out by headlines about Andrew and the Epstein files. The current heir, Prince William, was reported talking last week about the importance of male role models, and you could almost visualise everyone thinking: “What about your uncle?!” Royalty is a family business. With the royals holding back from shielding Andrew from the due process of justice, they apparently put the business ahead of the family.

In sane societies, accountability is an overriding factor above nobility, power or status, and what Charles did is show how this works. The world has a lesson to learn. The United States of today has failed utterly in living up to this value it historically championed, because it hasn’t been able to call to account its leaders notoriously associated with Epstein. Meanwhile, the UK is intensifying its drive with the arrest and release on bail, last week, of former ambassador to the US, Peter Mandelson, over his links with the sex offender. 

For us in these climes, the message is simple: where law and accountability are concerned, there must be no sacred cows.