Prince Andrew is once again in hot water over his relationship to the notorious criminal Jeffrey Epstein. Jeffrey Epstein was arrested for trafficking minors in July 2019, and a month later he was found dead in his cell. Prince Andrew has since faced a lot of speculation over his relationship with Epstein and the underage women he spent time with.
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One of these women, Virginia Giuffre, accused the royal of assaulting her when she was 17 years old. Back in 2022, Prince Andrew settled this civil case out of court with no admission of guilt. The total he paid was never disclosed, but it is rumoured to have been between 12 and 16 million pounds. He has always stuck to his guns on his position, repeatedly stating his innocence.
However, his name is once again being splattered all over headlines as nearly 1000 pages of interviews and transcripts detailing the messy Epstein affair have been unsealed in the US. It is important to note that a name being included in the documents does not necessarily mean that person has done anything wrong - some names have simply been mentioned in passing during testimonies. That being said, Prince Andrew’s name comes up more than 70 times in the pages, and now he has been reported to the Met Police.
Who has reported Prince Andrew to the Met Police?
Prince Andrew has been reported to the police by the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic in the wake of these documents being unsealed. Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, addressed both the Met Police and King Charles, calling for the former to revisit their investigations into the Duke of York and the latter to make a public statement about the issue.
Smith said on Thursday 4 January that he had reported the royal to the police, accusing them of not having taken the affair seriously:
To date, there appears to have been no serious criminal investigation, no interview of the accused or other witnesses, and no clear justification for taking no action.
The question many people will be asking is simple: if the accused were anyone else, do we believe they wouldn’t have been investigated and prosecuted?
King Charles may regret his recent acceptance of Prince Andrew
Smith also urged King Charles ‘to make a public statement, in front of the press and taking questions, to respond to these allegations and what they say about the monarchy’. The timing of these Epstein documents - which continually reference his long-term companion Ghislaine Maxwell - couldn’t have been worse for the Royal Family.
Just 10 days ago, Prince Andrew joined his brother King Charles and the rest of the family in their Christmas parade at Sandringham. According to the Daily Mail, friends of the King insist that he invited Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in the full knowledge that this move could backfire. He reportedly promised the late queen that he would look after his brother and, in a typically Christian manner, he chose Christmas as the time to get the family together.
Now, with Prince Andrew’s reputation being tarnished once again, King Charles may live to regret his public show of family unity.
However, only time will tell what Prince Andrew’s real involvement was with Epstein, as he continues to vehemently insist on his innocence.
Read more:
⋙ Queen Margrethe’s abdication: Could King Charles follow in her footsteps?
⋙ King Charles is breaking late Queen Elizabeth II's tradition for second year in a row
Sources used:
Daily Mail: RICHARD KAY: King Charles promised the Queen that he would look after Prince Andrew, but is he now regretting last week's show of unity at Sandringham?
Independent: Prince Andrew reported to police by anti-monarchy group as court papers renew sex assault claims
The Standard: Prince Andrew reported to police by Republic after claims of sexual assault resurface
BBC: Prince Andrew pays settlement ending sex assault case
