Expert Raises Serious Concerns Over How William and Kate Handled the Andrew Situation
Royal expert Andrew Lownie argued that Prince William and Kate Middleton's statement was made solely to manage their reputation.
After new revelations about his ties to Jeffrey Epstein surfaced, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his titles and asked to leave Royal Lodge. While King Charles was praised for acting decisively, many questioned why the monarchy had remained silent for so long, resulting in public pressure on other royals to respond. When Prince William and Kate Middleton later voiced support for Epstein's victims, royal expert Andrew Lownie argued it fell short, suggesting the gesture was driven solely to manage their reputation.
On February 9, ahead of William's first official tour to Saudi Arabia, as per the BBC, a Kensington Palace spokesperson said, "I can confirm the Prince and Princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims." Commenting on their vague statement, Lownie criticized it on his Substack, saying that 'it simply isn't enough' and they should have spoken more about the victims' suffering. He wrote, "It doesn't mention Andrew, it doesn't make clear that he should answer questions, and it doesn't say that Buckingham Palace will share everything they know to help the authorities with their enquiries."
Furthermore, the expert pointed out that the statement was conveniently made ahead of the Prince's Saudi trip to clear his diplomatic decks and shift the focus to his visit. He continued, "So it hasn’t been released so much because they remain ‘focused on the victims’, but because they remain focused on their own reputations, and want to try and manage the press reaction and narrative of the Prince of Wales’s visit." Moreover, he slammed the royal family for covering up Mountbatten-Windsor's illicit actions for decades, despite his ties to the disgraced financier being public knowledge since 2011.
The royal expert praised the bravery of the victims for exposing Mountbatten-Windsor's alleged modus operandi. However, he stressed, "The culture of deference and immunity still reigns supreme, so we have the ridiculous and shameful spectacle of briefing that Andrew is ‘unstable’, that friends are worried for his life, and that the loss of his titles and his move to Marsh Farm is punishment enough." His comments come just days after it was revealed that the former Duke of York had shared confidential government documents that he had access to as a trade envoy with Epstein, prompting a police inquiry.
While Lownie claimed William and Middleton's apology lacked merit, royal expert Emily Nash believed that the onus to apologize fell solely on Mountbatten-Windsor. She told HELLO!, "If there's one thing we know about William, it's that if he has something to say, he will say it. There has been a clamor for some kind of comment from the heir to the throne, so this will go some way to answering that, even if it doesn't go quite as far as some commentators might like." She stressed that just like the rest of the public, the King and the Prince of Wales have also learned about the Epstein file allegations in real time.
