They are a family being torn apart by the Epstein files.
Today, William feels the King must be strong and allow justice to be done, even if Andrew ends up in court.
But there is a problem if that happens.
In 2002 the trial of ex-servant Paul Burrell for theft collapsed when the then Queen remembered he had told her he was keeping some of Princess Diana’s possessions for safe-keeping.
What if Andrew tells His Majesty’s court he told Charles what was going on for the last two decades?
The King can’t be a witness in his own court and Andrew’s trial could be over just as quickly.
That brings us to the question of Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie.
At Christmas Prince William seemed to put an arm around his beleaguered cousins Bea and Eugenie by inviting them to Sandringham and keeping them in the fold.
One observer reckoned he fiddled with his scarf so as not to engage with the York sisters as they left church, but I don’t buy that.
At the time the daughters of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson were seen as “innocent victims” of the scandals engulfing their parents.
And the King, William and the rest of the royals wanted to show their support.
Now all that’s changed.
Bea and Eugenie are named hundreds of times in the notorious files released in the US, and although being named in the Epstein files does not indicate wrongdoing, their future within the family may now be in doubt.
The sisters visited pervert Epstein with Fergie shortly after he was released from prison for under-age sex.
Epstein wanted them to entertain his friends and act as tour guides in Buckingham Palace.
And Beatrice, now a happily married 37-year-old mum, advised Fergie on how to handle Epstein after she called him a paedophile, but continued a relationship with him.
In one email Ferguson crudely tells Epstein that Eugenie has just returned from a “shagging weekend,” so matey were the exchanges.
A bad look – and this matters.
Let’s not forget Beatrice is eighth in line to the throne and a counsellor of state.
Although not official working royals, it was quite possible William would have increased opportunities for his cousins to make a greater contribution when he is King.
That now looks in doubt as the fallout continues, and he may cut them adrift to protect his coming reign.
Even William and Kate are being tainted by association.
German countess Nicole Junkermann has resigned from a leading cancer charity, whose patrons are the Prince and Princess of Wales, after it emerged she was friends with Epstein for 20 years.
And DP World CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, a founder of William’s beloved EarthShot Prize, also had links with Epstein.
I’m told by a source close to William that he’s furious he and Kate are being dragged through the mud as well.
All this is leading to stresses and strains between William and his father the King.
When Prince Andrew left the Royal Navy 25 years ago Charles warned that he should not be given a top role straight away, but he was overruled by the late Queen and courtiers.
Murky waters indeed…and no-one can say for sure how this is going to end.
