POLL: Should Andrew be forced to testify?
It is surely the ex-Prince's duty to come forward with information
When King Charles announced that his younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, was to be stripped of his royal style, titles and honours, and forced into exile in Sandringham last October, it felt like a definitive moment – that His Majesty was finally putting an end to the lurid Andrew chapter and the sordid headlines that followed the disgraced ex-Duke.
But it seems the King has merely swept the problem under the rug and the dust has far from actually settled. The opening and the release of more than three million pages of Jeffrey Epstein-related documents published by the US Department of Justice last week, showed this is just the beginning of the end for Andrew.
The latest images show Andrew – who has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing – on his hands and knees, crouched over an unidentified woman who lies on the floor. In one of the images, which have been splashed across the front pages of newspapers over and over, Andrew is touching the woman’s abdomen.
Despite the growing public outcry, the father of Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie appears unfazed. Far from retreating from any form of spotlight, the King’s brother has been pictured horseback riding in Windsor Great Park not once but twice since the photos surfaced. He also very much appears to still be residing in his mansion Royal Lodge, although he is expected to move into the more modest Marsh Farm in the coming weeks, before his 66th birthday on 19 February.
Following on from the latest pictures, calls for Andrew to testify before the US Congress about his links to Epstein have re-intensified. Over the weekend during his trip to East Asia, the UK’s Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, reiterated: “In terms of testifying, I have always said anybody who has got information should be prepared to share that information in whatever form they’re asked to do, because you can’t be victim-centred if you’re not prepared to do that. Epstein’s victims have to be the first priority.”
Last November, members of the House Oversight Committee requested that Andrew answer questions as part of their Epstein investigation. In a formal letter, they demanded a “transcribed interview” with the former Prince in connection with his “long-standing friendship” with the convicted deceased paedophile. Andrew did not respond to the request, and Congress itself cannot force testimony from a foreign national, nor possess the power to subpoena him.
Before he was officially stripped of his style, titles and honours, the King’s brother said in a statement that he would agree to stop using his Duke of York title. It read, in part: “I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first.” Surely it is now Andrew’s duty to come forward and share what he knows about Esptein.
The royal saga is rumbling on and with three million pages released as of yet, it is far from over.
Andrew is not above the law . . . Is he? He was very much involved with JE according to files that have been released so far.
Parliament needs to get the ball rolling to have him removed from the line of succession