King Charles cannot escape the continued media attention on his brother Prince Andrew’s longstanding friendship with the late convicted pedophile, Jeffrey Epstein.
“How long have you known about Andrew and Epstein?” an individual shouted at Charles, 76, as the royal greeted the public outside Lichfield Cathedral in Staffordshire on Monday, October 27, per footage shared online.
“Have you asked the police to cover up for Andrew?” the heckler continued. “Have you asked the police to cover up for Andrew, Charles? What do you think — should the MPs be allowed to debate the royals in the House of Commons?”
Charles ignored the questions and was promptly escorted away from the scene by an accompanying guard. The heckler didn’t appear particularly popular with the rest of the crowd, who had gathered to greet the King, as some onlookers could be heard on video telling the unidentified man to “stop” and “shut up.”
On October 17, Andrew, 65, announced he is giving up his royal titles and honors as the relationship between himself and Epstein is once again dominating worldwide headlines.
“In discussion with The King, and my immediate and wider family, we have concluded the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the Royal Family,” Andrew said in a statement to Us Weekly on Friday, October 17. “I have decided, as I always have, to put my duty to my family and country first. I stand by my decision five years ago to stand back from public life.”
He added, “With His Majesty’s agreement, we feel I must now go a step further. I will therefore no longer use my title or the honors which have been conferred upon me. As I have said previously, I vigorously deny the accusations against me.”
Andrew was accused of assault by the late Virginia Giuffre in 2019, further claiming that she was also sexually assaulted by Epstein, who she said introduced her to the royal along with his longtime associate and convicted sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell. Giuffre sued Andrew for sexual abuse in 2021 and they settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Prince Andrew has repeatedly denied the allegations, and Giuffre died by suicide at age 41 this past April.
Epstein died by suicide while he was incarcerated at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York after he was arrested on charges of federal sex trafficking of minors. Maxwell was found guilty on child sex trafficking charges in 2021 and is currently imprisoned at the Federal Prison Camp in Bryan, Texas.
Interest in the relationship between Andrew and Epstein was reignited after emails exchanged between the pair were made public this year. The emails, from 2011, allegedly disproved Andrew’s previous claim that he had cut off all contact with Epstein in December 2010.
“I’m just as concerned for you! Don’t worry about me!” an alleged February 2011 email from Andrew to Epstein read. “It would seem we are in this together and will have to rise above it. Otherwise keep in close touch and we’ll play some more soon!!!!”
Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson will also reportedly move from Royal Lodge, his home of over 20 years, to another royal property (his lease for the home was set to expire in 2078). He reportedly hopes to move into Adelaide Cottage, the former home of the Prince and Princess of Wales.
“No one is really sure how it’s going to go down at the Palace yet,” a friend of Andrew and Ferguson told The Sun. “Andy is willing to leave, but these are his demands.”
