The arrest of former Prince Andrew, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has opened a new chapter in the unprecedented crisis that has rocked the UK’s power structures due to new revelations from files relating to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was taken into custody on Thursday morning (19) on suspicion of misconduct in public office. After 11 hours in detention, Andrew was released, but remains under investigation.
The thousands of documents recently released by the US Department of Justice on the case have provoked a wave of resignations at the top of Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labor government and have put pressure on the monarchy, accused of acting insufficiently to clarify the alleged crimes of the member of royalty stripped of his titles.
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Crisis in the monarchy
In a series of recent events, King Charles III was met with boos from the public over the link between his brother and pedophile Jeffrey Epstein – a reaction that exposes the monarchy’s reputation crisis in the United Kingdom.
As new revelations involving Andrew emerged, pressure also increased on the king, who decided to revoke all of his brother’s nobility and military titles and force him to abandon his residence at Royal Lodge, on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
The British monarch later said he would be willing to “assist” the British police in their investigation into Andrew. Buckingham Palace commented that the former prince would “cooperate” with responses to specific allegations that concern his people.
This Thursday, after learning of the arrest, the king released an official statement saying that he received the news with “deep regret”, but that “the law must take its course”.
The new files released by the American government also reignited rumors that the royal family had financed an agreement reached in 2022 with one of Epstein’s victims, Virginia Giuffre, who claimed to have been abused by Andrew on several occasions in the early 2000s, when she was a minor. Charles rejected such allegations, saying the Crown did not provide any financial assistance to close the case.
In addition to the sexual abuse accusation involving a teenage girl, the new set of documents suggested that Andrew may have shared state secrets with Epstein while working as a British trade envoy. He stepped down in 2011 after the sexual abuse scandal came to light.
Reports under investigation indicate that Andrew may have revealed details about his official trips to Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and Singapore, including potential confidential business negotiations. The latest batch released by the US Department of Justice exposes emails exchanged in 2010 between the financier and the jailed royal.
In one of the messages, dated November 30, 2010, the former prince sent a series of documents to Epstein through an account named “The Duke” (a reference to the title of Duke of York), describing visits to Vietnam, Hong Kong, China and Singapore. He reportedly passed on the reports within minutes of receiving them from his assistant at the time.
British police are still investigating allegations that a woman was taken to the UK by Jeffrey Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew. The information appears in an email exchange between the two.
Even with the loss of his titles and retirement from public life, former Prince Andrew remains, by law, in the line of succession to the British throne as he is the son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. Any exclusion of him from the line of succession would require the approval of the British Parliament.
In addition to Andrew, documents released by the US government show that his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson was also linked to Epstein.
In emails exchanged after 2008 – that is, when the financier had already been convicted of grooming an underage girl –, the former Duchess of York wrote praises for Epstein, describing him as “the brother she always wished she had”.
There are also mentions of Epstein’s financial assistance to Sarah in 2009, after she faced difficulties in a business venture. The former duchess sought support from Epstein worth £20,000 and said she was afraid of exposure in the press. In another file, the financier would have said via message that he helped her pay off debts for 15 years.
Labor government’s popularity sinks with new revelations
Epstein’s files didn’t just result in a reputational crisis for royalty. Members of the British political elite were also affected by the new revelations, including members of Keir Starmer’s government.
The same documents that exposed new details of Andrew and Epstein’s relationship led to the resignation of important figures in labor management.
Last week, three members of the government left their positions amid the Epstein scandal: the prime minister’s chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney; the cabinet secretary and director of the Civil Service, Chris Wormald; and the Director of Communications, Tim Allan.
The resignations and dismissals come amid questions over the appointment of Peter Mandelson as British ambassador to the US in December 2024, despite his links to Epstein.
Mandelson was ousted in September after the extent of his ties to the late American financier were revealed. The former UK ambassador to the US is being investigated on suspicion of leaking sensitive market information and internal government communications to Epstein during the period in which he held ministerial positions in the government of Labor Prime Minister Gordon Brown, amid the 2008 financial crisis.
In one of the exchanges between the two, in 2009, Epstein and Mandelson talked about a political project in the United Kingdom to impose a tax on bankers’ bonuses as a punitive and one-off measure after the global financial crisis of the previous year.
Bank records released by the US government suggested that in 2009, a year after Epstein’s conviction, Mandelson forwarded a briefing to the sex offender intended for Prime Minister Gordon Brown, with the following message: “Interesting note that has been sent to PM [primeiro-ministro]”.
Other bank statements released also suggested the transfer, between 2003 and 2004, of US$75,000 to bank accounts linked to Mandelson.
In another document that had already been released, from 2003, the former ambassador described Epstein as “his best friend” and appears in a photo in a bathrobe sitting facing the financier in a house.
When the new batch of documents about Epstein came to light in early February, the British prime minister admitted that he knew about Mandelson’s ties to Epstein at the time he appointed him ambassador. Starmer, however, claimed that he was unaware of the extent of this relationship.
In an attempt to shield Starmer, his right-hand man, Morgan McSweeney, resigned after taking “full responsibility” for advising the prime minister to appoint Mandelson.
The case amplified the Labor prime minister’s popularity crisis. Since the release of the files, the conservative opposition and labor allies themselves have pressured the Starmer administration for the full disclosure of documents related to Mandelson’s appointment as ambassador to the USA.
Even before the Epstein scandal took over the news in the United Kingdom, the Labor leader was already hanging on to power by a thread. Now, MPs from his own party are threatening to abandon their support for the unpopular Starmer.
Despite the pressure, he has stated that he will not resign, even with surveys showing high levels of disapproval of his work (around 70%, according to Ipsos and YouGov in February).
