The royal family hasn’t been able to stay away from the spotlight lately, as scrutiny over Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s links to US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein have dominated the news. Last week, Andrew was formally stripped of his titles by King Charles and the royal will vacate his Royal Lodge mansion after it emerged he had been paying a ‘peppercorn’ rent for two decades. Now President Donald Trump has waded in, saying he feels ‘badly’ for the royals.
Speaking to journalists on Air Force One on Sunday, Trump was quizzed on the King’s decision to remove Andrew’s titles. The US President remarked:
It’s a terrible thing that’s happened to the [royal] family. That’s been a tragic situation. It’s too bad. I feel badly for the family.
And that might not be the end of it for Andrew, after Buckingham Palace refused to rule out stripping the royal of his campaign medal from the Falklands war. Yesterday Defence Secretary John Healey said that his department ‘working to remove’ Andrew’s honorary rank of vice-admiral, which he was awarded on his 55th birthday in 2015. Healey added: ‘Guided again by the King, we are working now to remove that last remaining title of vice-admiral that he has.’ Crikey.
Pressure is piling on the former prince to give evidence before a US congressional committee about what he knew about Epstein’s activities. Andrew has always denied the allegations against him by the late Virginia Giuffre – whose memoirs have been recently published – after she claimed she was trafficked by the US paedophile. Now Members of Congress from both US parties want to see Andrew testify. The House of Representatives’ oversight committee doesn’t have the power to make non-Americans living abroad to attend – but can ask for a deposition to be carried out in their home country. Will Andrew step forward? Stay tuned…
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