Ex-Royal Aide Claims Andrew Looked ‘Broken’ After Arrest — and the Palace is Feeling the Fallout
Former aide describes Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as "broken," noting his royal confidence has been replaced by visible fear.
The fallout from Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein has reached a fever pitch, with insiders warning that the scandal is harming the very foundation of the British Monarchy. Commenting on the ongoing crisis, Ailsa Anderson, the former press secretary of the late Queen Elizabeth II, has spoken out about the devastating optics of the former Duke of York’s legal troubles. Reflecting on his February 19 arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, Anderson described a man stripped of his former royal confidence, stating that the former Prince now looks scared and deeply ‘broken.’
In a historic move not seen involving a senior royal in over four centuries, the ex-Duke was arrested at Woodfarm Cottage, located on the King’s Norfolk estate. Following an 11-hour interrogation, he was snapped leaving the police station, cowering in the backseat of a vehicle. That ‘sweating’ image of Mountbatten-Windsor was later hung in the Louvre museum by activists to add a grim reminder of how his legacy will be defined. Adding to the conversation, Anderson told PEOPLE that the former Prince’s controversies are severely damaging the Firm. “That reverence people once had for the royal family is disappearing. This is the damage Andrew has done,” she noted, observing that the 66-year-old appeared “broken” and “haunted” during his high-profile arrest.
Following the arrest, Mountbatten-Windsor has been pushed into further isolation. Reports suggest he has even been barred from his favorite pastime—horseback riding—to prevent any public sightings of him ‘grinning and smiling’ while the monarchy remains in a state of crisis. “It’s considered a bad look… But it was one of the few things he actually enjoyed doing, so what on earth is he going to do with his time?” a source told The Sun. Although King Charles has already stripped him of his remaining titles, his honors, and his residence at Royal Lodge, the pressure to remove him from his eighth position in the line of succession continues to intensify with each passing day—though likely not for much longer.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Any Questions program, Defense Minister Luke Pollard confirmed that the government ‘absolutely’ plans to prevent the ex-Duke from remaining “potentially…a heartbeat away from the throne.” Echoing the same sentiment, historian David Olusoga observed that there is “a desperate desire within government and within the palace to draw a firewall… between this crisis and the wider monarchy.” While it is a constitutionally complex procedure, Australia and New Zealand have become the first Commonwealth realms to showcase their support for this move.
