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Britain’s royal family is in crisis.
Police in the UK have confirmed they are assessing sex trafficking allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and there are growing calls for his brother King Charles to abdicate the throne.
The development comes after it was claimed one of the victims of paedophile financier Jeffery Epstein was flown into London on the infamous “Lolita Express”, before being secretly admitted into Buckingham Palace to meet with Andrew.
Now, royal biographer Andrew Lownie has a stark warning: Charles’ reign is indeed under threat.
“I think that there have been calls on radio programmes now for him to use the excuse of his illness to step aside and to give William a chance to clean up the mess since he doesn’t seem to be doing it,” the historian shared in a new episode of The Lownie Report.
“My own feeling is that his reign will be defined by how he deals with Epstein. If he is prepared to clean out the stables and give a clean slate to William. Really bite the bullet and be honest about what was known.”
Certainly, the furore surrounding the true extent of Andrew’s relationship with Epstein is only growing louder, despite the former Duke strongly denying any wrongdoing.
Adding to the public fury is the revelation that dozens of documents identifying Andrew in the Epstein files have been redacted since their release, something one Epstein survivor claimed was “thwarting justice”.
It should be pointed out that inclusion in the Epstein files does not indicate wrongdoing, but even so, the fallout for the monarchy is huge.
According to Lownie’s sources, however, the Palace is “still intent on trying to contain the scandal”.
It’s a position, he warned, that will “only further weaken the King and damage the monarchy”.
Charles finds himself in a “difficult position”, the expert explained.
“He’s losing trust and respect, and is seen as weak and protecting his younger brother. And I think he does need to be much more ruthless in how he deals with this problem, because otherwise it will lead to not the end of the monarchy, but certainly a diminishment in its popularity.”
The King himself has already said he stands “ready to support” police as they consider whether there are grounds to investigate Andrew over suspected misconduct in public office and breach of official secrets.
He issued a rare statement on the matter after emails – released in the Epstein files – appeared to show Andrew passing on details of confidential investment opportunities to Epstein.
“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,” a Palace spokesman said at the time.
“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.”
While Lownie says the Royal Family – under Charles’ reign – is facing “ a very, very serious problem”, not everyone agrees it’s the King’s mess to fix.
Speaking to Sky News, royal reporter and commentator Kinsey Schofield had a different take.
“There are certain people within the palace that have known about the allegations for quite some time, but are those people angry with the appropriate monarch?” she told the show.
“He [King Charles] would have no reason to know what Andrew was up to behind closed doors, who he was associating with.
“This is an inherited mess, and the Queen’s advisor should have done a better job of protecting the future of the monarchy and being more ruthless towards Andrew.
“I really have sympathy for the King here.”
