Key Test of Prince Andrew’s Damage to Royals Outlined by Anti-Monarchists

King Charles III is in the grips of perhaps the biggest crisis of his reign over Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein, but there is still potential for the backlash to grow, Britain’s anti-Monarchy campaign group told Newsweek.

Andrew voluntarily gave up use of his titles, including Duke of York, on Friday after increased scrutiny of his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, but his statement that the decision was to avoid distracting from the good work of the Monarchy appeared to pour more fuel on the fire.

At the heart of the scandal is the allegation by Virginia Giuffre that she was trafficked to have sex with him at age 17 on three occasions in 2001, which appear in her posthumous book, Nobody’s Girl, published on Tuesday. Andrew denies the allegations. Giuffre died after what her family described as a suicide in April.

The past week has in Britain seen politicians significantly toughen up their stance on the Monarchy, with Rachel Reeves, the country’s finance chief, saying: “He [Andrew] shouldn’t have been associated with a convicted pedophile, and I think the new revelations in this book make for very sober reading and I’m sure everybody will reflect on that and form their own judgment.”

In terms of the long-term impact on the Monarchy, however, anti-royal campaign group Republic is still looking out for evidence of a further shift against Andrew.

Graham Smith, its chief executive, said: “Some of the political leadership has been very gutless in relation to Andrew. The government’s position that he should be policed by his own brother is utterly abhorrent.”

Among the new allegations about Andrew are emails leaked to the British press, including one message Andrew sent to a palace press officer in February 2011 seemingly stating that he asked an on-duty police protection officer to dig up dirt on Giuffre.

“It would also seem she has a criminal record in the States,” Andrew wrote, quoted by The Mail on Sunday. “I have given her DoB [date of birth] and social security number for investigation with XXX, the on duty ppo [personal protection officer].”

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said in a statement to Newsweek: “We are aware of media reporting and are actively looking into the claims made.” Newsweek has approached representatives of Prince Andrew about the email.

Smith said: “He is alleged to have committed sexual offences and attempting to corrupt a police officer by wanting him to help bismirch Virginia Giuffre.

“This is the real tipping point, the test, whether they [Britain’s politicians] get out of the position that he should simply be slapped on the wrist for being associated with a criminal and into the territory where they are saying there is evidence about whether he is a criminal. When they start to do that we will know they are taking it seriously.”

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