Secret rift in the Royal Family that is about to get so much worse
The British monarchy has survived wars, revolutions and constitutional crises across a millennium. It may now not survive one man: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.I have covered the Royal Family for 35 years. Diana’s death. The annus horribilis. Harry and Meghan’s exodus. None of it compares to this.Today, as is being widely reported, police visited Andrew at 8am at his new home on the Sandringham estate, and he was arrested.A number of vehicles arrived at the five-bedroom farmhouse he was forced to move to from his beloved Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.The visitors were dressed in plain clothes according to onlookers, but ‘appeared to be police officers’.This shattering development follows news that no fewer than nine police forces are now looking at the huge tranche of the Epstein files, with lines of inquiry into alleged trafficking, leaked confidential material and historic abuse claims.London’s Metropolitan Police, meanwhile, are examining claims that Andrew’s royal protection officers ‘turned a blind eye’ to alleged sexual abuse during visits to Epstein’s private island, Little St James.The pocketbooks those officers kept – meticulous logs of every journey, every overnight stay – were never seized. Never examined. Police visited Andrew at 8am this morning at his new home on the Sandringham estate and he was arrestedNow they surely will be.Palace obfuscation, courtiers talking of complications in response to probes about Andrew’s behaviour and where the $16million (£11.8million) payment to his chief accuser, the late Virginia Giuffre, came from, will no longer be possible.And for the monarchy, the complications truly are life-threatening.Should Andrew be charged after his arrest, the legal terrain would be treacherous in ways rarely discussed publicly.Were he to claim for example, that he had kept the King informed of any part of his conduct, the implications for the constitution would be extraordinary. Charles cannot testify in his own courts.A prosecution could collapse before it reached the dock – much as royal butler Paul Burrell’s case imploded in 2002 when it emerged that Burrell, charged with theft, had told the Queen that he had taken some of Diana’s personal items and papers for safekeeping.On that occasion, the Crown could not call its own monarch as a witness. The case fell apart. Those who understand how these things work have not forgotten that precedent.Charles understood the threat clearly enough. He stripped his brother of his titles. It was an attempt to draw a cordon between Andrew and the House of Windsor. It hasn’t held. An image issued by the US Department of Justice of a photograph appearing to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor crouched over an unidentified woman Pictured: Andrew in the now infamous photograph of him with Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine MaxwellWilliam knows it too. He has known it for years.Back in 2022, when Andrew manoeuvered to make a public return at the ancient Order of the Garter ceremony at Windsor – one of the oldest and most venerable rituals of the English Crown – William issued an ultimatum to his grandmother. Blunt. Unambiguous.If Andrew appeared publicly in the procession, he would withdraw. ‘The Duke of Cambridge was adamant,’ a senior royal source told the Evening Standard at the time. ‘If York insisted on taking part publicly, he would withdraw.’ The Queen blinked. Andrew was quietly removed from the public elements of the day at the last minute – so late his name was still printed in the order of service.This February, as William flew to Saudi Arabia on an official three-day visit, his office issued the couple’s first public statement on the Epstein crisis: ‘The Prince and Princess of Wales have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims.’Seventeen words. Timed to be issued before he landed in Riyadh, so the question might be considered answered and not follow him on to the ground. It followed him anyway. Twice, from the sidelines of a football pitch in the Saudi capital, reporters asked whether the Royal Family had done enough.The answer, in William’s view, is no. It has never been enough. Sources close to him are unequivocal: he believes his grandmother indulged Andrew for too long and that by implication his father has been too slow to act.‘William believes his father is letting sentiment destroy credibility,’ one source put it. ‘William wants Andrew gone for good. But Charles still sees a brother.’ That is the rift at the heart of the palace. Not Harry. Not the courtiers. Andrew.What will happen to the monarchy now? Can it be business as usual?
One source said: 'William wants Andrew gone for good. But Charles still sees a brother' Sources close to William are unequivocal: he believes his grandmother indulged Andrew for too long In late April, Charles travels to the United States – the first visit by a reigning British monarch since his mother toured Virginia and Washington in 2007. The occasion is America’s 250th anniversary of independence. It should be a moment of pageantry and soft power at its finest.It won’t be.At Lichfield Cathedral last October, a heckler shouted: ‘How long have you known about Andrew and Epstein?’ At Dedham in Essex this February, another: ‘Have you pressurised the police to start investigating Andrew?’ The King heard both. He ignored both. The crowds around him booed the questioners down.That was England, where royal loyalty still runs deep enough to provide cover.America is different. There are no royalists to shout down the awkward questions. Epstein’s crimes were largely committed on American soil. The congressional pressure is American.Representative Ro Khanna has already said publicly that the King ‘has to answer what he knew about Andrew’ and warned the monarchy itself could fall if he doesn’t. That is a sitting US congressman speaking. Not a protester outside a cathedral. A lawmaker.The US visit risks becoming the most damaging royal walkabout in modern history even though Andrew has now been arrested.Charles and William understand better than anyone the danger of the swirling water they are now entering. It fills them with dread.Understandably so. Because never in my lifetime has the monarchy looked so vulnerable.Robert Jobson is a No 1 Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling royal author. His latest book is The Windsor Legacy.
