Born into unimaginable luxury and showered with honors, the man formerly known as His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, Duke of York will henceforth be addressed as plain old Mr. Mountbatten Windsor.
It’s a stunning fall. The second, apparently favorite, son of Queen Elizabeth II has not only lost his many titles but also his home. He’s been kicked out of his lavish grace-and-favor mansion on the grounds of Windsor Castle after elder brother King Charles III’s patience finally snapped. An endless torrent of ugly revelations related to his closeness to pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein became unbearable for a family whose No. 1 job is to embody a dignified permanence at the heart of the British state.
In stripping the former princeling of any place in public life, Charles has shown a ruthlessness and moral clarity others should try. The U.S. Congress and Trump administration need to do now what many of the president’s supporters want and open the full Epstein files to public scrutiny.
Despite having paid her a reported $15.8 million to settle a legal case and that infamous photograph showing them together, Mountbatten Windsor continues to deny having had sex with Virginia Giuffre, the woman abused by Epstein and trafficked to his powerful friends. Her memoir posthumously published last month describes in detail what she alleges these men, including the ex-prince, did to her.
Mountbatten Windsor’s credibility suffered further damage when a tabloid published an alleged email from him suggesting he’d dissembled about the date on which he’d last had contact with Epstein. Another alleged message appeared to show he’d asked his taxpayer-funded protection detail to dig up dirt on his accuser. Police are investigating that potential abuse of power. The ex-prince has consistently denied all claims against him.
As Charles’ shock statement defenestrating his brother landed Thursday evening, Giuffre’s family made clear not only their pride in her for bravely challenging the account of a powerful prince, but that justice for the surviving victims must follow. They are right. Mountbatten Windsor still has questions to answer about what he saw at Epstein’s mansion. He should finally give evidence in cases pending against the billionaire’s estate. But this shameful episode goes way beyond the alleged deeds of one blue-blooded ne’er-do-well.
That the outrage over Epstein and his coterie hasn’t died down over the past decade suggests the public does care, viscerally. Charles’ humiliation of his own brother is living proof. The elite figures who cozied up to the financier, lapping up the wealthy trappings without questioning his surrounding himself with very young “masseuses,” need to tell us what they saw. Though it may be a long wait, given the omerta so far.
Giuffre names Bill Clinton, Al and Tipper Gore and many others in her book as people who saw her with Epstein (she doesn’t accuse Clinton or either Gore of abuse). It’s time for witnesses to come forward, including the many cooks, housekeepers, pilots, personal assistants and other staff retained by Epstein.
For the past year, Congress and the White House have obfuscated, using political tricks such as early recess and the government shutdown to prevent disclosing the hundreds of gigabytes of data plus other material held by the FBI relating to Epstein and associates, including his jailed girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.
The legislative and executive branches of the U.S. government should take their cue from the UK’s non-executive chairman, King Charles. This scandal won’t go away until the rot has been removed.
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