“New facts meant the need for a new response” – that is how one palace source described this latest statement and why it was issued now.
The timing was still extraordinary.
Do not underestimate how significant it is that it was released just a matter of hours after Prince William had landed in Saudi Arabia.
Usually there’s an unwritten rule that nothing should ever overshadow an important diplomatic visit like this.
But there was a sense in the palace that something had shifted over the weekend in terms of the allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – and no response wasn’t an option.
No one is trying to diminish the sexual claims that have emerged, which Andrew has denied. The Royal Family has repeatedly said we must think of Epstein’s victims.
However, the claims that he may have been sharing information with Epstein – information he gained in his official capacity as a UK trade envoy – go to the very heart of the role of the Royal Family; travelling the globe on behalf of UK plc, not for their own personal gain but as an act of service to the country.
The spectre of Epstein has loomed large over the Windsors for over 15 years. We’ve all watched closely as a family has had to decide the best public response to allegations involving one of their own.
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Andrew’s mother, Queen Elizabeth, and now his brother Charles have had to wrestle with where their priorities should lie; family or the wider institution?
This time, with the ongoing reputational risks too high, the monarchy has to come first. Buckingham Palace has even gone as far as to say it would help the police if it was called upon.
Already the King has removed Andrew’s birth right that he be known as a prince – whether that and this latest statement are enough to stop the pressure to take further action, we may just have to wait to see what else the Epstein files unearth.
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The King, I’m told, can weather the heckles from individuals in crowds, as he concentrates on trying to demonstrate robust leadership in the most challenging family circumstances.
