LONDON – Britain’s largely pro-royal public have welcomed the arrest of former prince Andrew, whose friendship with convicted US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein turned him into an outcast.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as he is now known, was detained on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct while acting as a UK trade envoy between 2001 and 2011.
Police searched two of his properties following revelations in newly released US documents that potentially confidential reports were shared with Epstein, who took his own life in prison in 2019.
King Charles III said in a rare personally signed statement that “the law must take its course” after police arrested his younger brother.
“What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities,” Charles said.
“In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation. Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.”
Public reaction
On the streets of London, many expressed satisfaction that the arrest showed the royal family is not above the law.
Lawyer Emma Carter (55) from Essex, east of London, said Andrew “deserves” to be arrested. “He’s been hiding behind his privileges and the popularity of the queen for too many years,” she told AFP.
“He should have been arrested a long time ago, quite frankly. He just abused his position completely.”
Maggie Yeo (59) said: “I thought they (the royal family) were untouchable. It is good to know they are not beyond justice. At least British justice is working.”
Yeo said she felt sorry for King Charles, who is suffering from cancer. “He probably wasn’t fully aware of his brother’s background.”
Jennifer Tiso (39), a data analyst, said: “It’s good that he’s paying for what he’s done. And I don’t think that just because you are related to the royal family, you should be above the law or have a different treatment from regular people.”
“I think it’s time. It’s happened before with rockstars, superstars, and now it’s getting to places of higher power, like, the royal family.”
ALSO READ: BREAKING NEWS | UK police arrest former Prince Andrew on suspicion of misconduct
Kevin (66), a pensioner from Salisbury who only gave his first name, said Andrew, the son of the late queen Elizabeth II, was “not clever” and “arrogant”.
“I am not against the royal family, but he doesn’t give the right example. He was the queen’s favourite. She liked to protect him.”
He said the arrest was important as the case “involves business, contracts, money, relations with foreign states”.
Background
Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing, although he agreed to pay a multi-million-pound sum to settle a claim by Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of abusing her, without admitting any liability.
A YouGov poll released on Monday indicated that 62% of Britons believed it unlikely that Andrew would be charged.
Andrew’s arrest at his new home on the king’s Sandringham estate remains restricted to his role as trade envoy, a position he was forced to stand down from over his Epstein links.
Accusations that Epstein may have arranged sexual encounters for the former prince and others in Britain are still being evaluated by British police.
Carter said the arrest was “the right thing for the victims” of Epstein’s sexual abuse.
