London – King Charles III’s historic decision to strip his brother Andrew of his royal titles and effectively exile him won widespread backing Friday, but failed to calm calls for further action and greater oversight of the monarchy. The king’s move to axe Andrew’s prince title — the first such action in more than a century — is the latest humiliating fallout for the scandal-plagued royal over his links to convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Charles also announced Thursday he was ousting his younger brother from his longtime home on Windsor Castle’s sprawling grounds, after renewed accusations from one of Epstein’s main accusers, Virginia Giuffre.
The posthumous publication of her memoir last week, reiterating in shocking detail allegations she was trafficked to have sex with Andrew three times, including twice when she was 17, sparked renewed public outcry. “This is a huge, huge development,” the memoir’s ghostwriter Amy Wallace, told the BBC after Buckingham Palace released it’s statement. “To have somebody in power, somebody as respected as the king, say ‘I believe you’ — that’s historic. It’s a credit to Virginia. It’s a credit to her book.” The audience at a live taping of the BBC’s flagship current affairs debate programme “Question Time” spontaneously applauded when the news was announced. Figures from across the political spectrum welcomed the move. “This is a really brave, important, and right step by the king, and I fully support it,” Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy told the audience, to further clapping.
‘Not enough’
Giuffre, a US and Australian citizen, took her own life in April aged 41.
Her US-based brother Sky Roberts hailed the decision, but told the BBC “it’s not enough”. “I commend the king, I think he’s doing an amazing job as a world leader, setting a precedent.
“But we need to take it one more step further: he needs to be behind bars,” he said of Andrew.
Similar calls have been growing, with anti-monarchy pressure group Republic revealing Thursday it has instructed lawyers to explore if there is “sufficient evidence” to pursue a private prosecution. London’s Metropolitan Police have previously probed Giuffre’s claims, but said in 2021 they were taking no further action after re-reviewing their investigation. Andrew, 65, who is the second son of the late queen Elizabeth II, has repeatedly denied the allegations.
But he agreed to pay Giuffre millions of dollars in 2022 to end her civil sexual assault case against him.
