The two primary British protagonists implicated in the Epstein files – Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson – have spent the last week competing with each other for invidious headlines. The latter has briefly overtaken interest in Andrew, when it was revealed that the now former Labour lord weaponised his position as business secretary to share confidential state information with a convicted paedophile on the other side of the Atlantic. This extraordinary abuse of power has seen the current Labour prime minister, Keir Starmer, fighting off questions concerning his own judgement and that of his party.
However, ex-prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and the royal family he belongs to are never far behind. Today, King Charles was heckled once again over his brother Andrew’s association with Jeffrey Epstein, during a royal visit to Lancashire. This comes after his younger brother was left to fend off an Epstein query on stage in Dubai last week. Prince Edward’s initial response – “with the best will in the world, I am not sure this is the audience that is probably the least bit interested in that” – could not have been further from the mark.
Today, as William was set to begin an official visit to Saudi Arabia, a royal spokesperson said: “I can confirm The Prince and Princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims.” The statement contained no direct reference to Epstein, Andrew or his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, and for many, it further compounded the perception that the royal family has failed to grasp the enormity of the pr
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