Protesters Target Buckingham Palace Throne Room With Andrew and Epstein Banner
A Buckingham Palace tour took a shocking turn as anti-monarchy activists hijacked the Throne Room with an Andrew-Epstein banner.
Anti-monarchy protesters are notorious for their attention-grabbing gimmicks, and King Charles has had more than a few unfortunate run-ins with them. On July 13, the monarch faced a fresh headache when activists from the campaign group Republic made their way into Buckingham Palace's Throne Room, unfurling a giant image of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor alongside Jeffrey Epstein. The stunt, carried out in full view of paying visitors, turned the Palace's annual Summer Opening into an unexpectedly controversial spectacle.
In a photo posted on the campaign group's Instagram, protesters can be seen holding up the banner superimposed with the words, "What did you know?" The picture in question was from Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein's meeting in New York in December 2010. The former Prince met the disgraced financier in Manhattan's Central Park just months after the latter was released on charges of indecent relations with minors. Mountbatten-Windsor was also alleged to have stayed at Epstein's Manhattan townhouse on the Upper East Side. In his BBC Newsnight interview, he claimed that he went to visit Epstein to end their friendship in person, as it was "the honorable and the right thing to do." Watch the video here!
Shortly after the image went viral, Republic's CEO, Graham Smith, told Town&Country, "Republic activists have taken questions about Andrew to the heart of the royal household, the symbolic home of the monarchy." He further added, "It is simply not believable to think that Charles and William weren't briefed years ago about the numerous allegations against Andrew…The Republic will not rest until these questions are answered, and the protests will not stop until the monarchy is gone. The monarchy survives on secrecy, and that secrecy has to stop."
Unsurprisingly, this is not the first time members of the Republic have voiced their frustration over the Palace's alleged cover-ups of Mountbatten-Windor's scandals. Last October, they staged a protest at the entrance to Windsor Great Park, near Royal Lodge, where the former prince was previously residing. They displayed two large banners: one, in black with yellow text, read "End royal secrecy," and another with a picture of Mountbatten-Windsor, Charles, and Prince William, read, "What are you hiding? Royal Epstein inquiry now." At the time, they urged Britons to write to their representatives in favor of opening a "Royal Epstein investigation."
As reported by Town&Country, Smith maintained that the royals had long dodged accountability and ignored the mounting evidence against Mountbatten-Windsor for over two decades. He argued, "That's why Parliament needs to launch a Royal Epstein Inquiry, to investigate what Charles and William knew about Andrew's links with Jeffrey Epstein. The secrecy has to end. The truth must be brought out into the open. The public deserves answers."
