King Charles III seeks ‘moral high ground’ with pledge to help police as Epstein scandal deepens

LONDON (AP) - In an earlier era, Britain's royal family might have tried to bury the scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Not during the reign of King Charles III.

Since October, the king has stripped his younger brother of the right to be called prince, forced him to move out of the royal estate he occupied for more than 20 years and issued a public statement supporting the women and girls abused by Epstein.

Then came Monday's unprecedented announcement that Buckingham Palace was ready to cooperate in the event of a police inquiry into Mountbatten-Windsor's links to Epstein.

Charles was forced to act after the U.S. Justice Department released millions of pages of Epstein documents that revealed the details of his relationship with Mountbatten-Windsor and torpedoed the former prince's claims that he severed ties with the financier after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution.

Fifty or 100 years ago, "you can imagine the gentlemen's agreements" that would have sought to "bury this kind of story," said Ed Owens, author of "After Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?"

"But, thankfully, we live in a more democratic age where people are rightly held accountable for their actions. In taking the moral high ground - and that is what the king is doing here - the monarchy is signaling very clearly that it recognizes that public opinion demands that justice be served and that it is willing to comply with the police inquiry."

The King's latest step was triggered by allegations that Mountbatten-Windsor sent Epstein confidential reports from a 2010 tour of Southeast Asia, which he undertook as Britain's envoy for international trade. The correspondence was uncovered by reporters combing through the Justice Department files.

The Thames Valley Police, an agency that covers areas west of London, including Mountbatten-Windsor's former home, said Monday that it was "assessing" the reports. The police statement quickly brought a response from the palace.

"The King has made clear, in words and through unprecedented actions, his profound concern at allegations which continue to come to light in respect of Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor's conduct," the palace said in a statement. "While the specific claims in question are for Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor to address, if we are approached by Thames Valley Police we stand ready to support them as you would expect."

Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing in his relationship with Epstein.

The palace's announcement was splashed across British newspapers on Tuesday, with the The Sun tabloid filling its front page with the headline "King: We'll Help Cops on Andy."

The palace's commitment to cooperate with police is just the latest in a series of actions designed to isolate Mountbatten-Windsor and shield the rest of the royal family from the scandal, said Craig Prescott, an expert on constitutional law and the monarchy at Royal Holloway, University of London.

While the revelations about Mountbatten-Windsor have tarnished the family's reputation, support for the monarchy remains firm, Prescott said.

"As long as it's contained to Prince Andrew, then I think the monarchy's relatively safe," he said of the scandal.

Britain's royal family has struggled to respond to Mountbatten-Windsor's behavior since 2010, when Virginia Giuffre alleged that Epstein had flown her to Britain to have sex with the man who was then a prince of the realm. Giuffre, who was just 17 at the time, died by suicide last year.

But under the late Queen Elizabeth II, who sought to preserve the royal mystique with the philosophy of "never complain, never explain," the palace was largely silent.

That became untenable in 2019, when Mountbatten-Windsor gave a disastrous interview to the BBC. Instead of silencing his critics, the interview only fueled the scandal after the royal gave implausible explanations for his behavior and failed to show sympathy for Epstein's victims.

Soon after the interview, Elizabeth forced her second son to give up his royal duties and his work with charities across the country.

But the man who was reputed to be the queen's favorite child remained Prince Andrew until last fall.

Then in October the publication of an unflattering book about the prince's sense of entitlement and the looming release of the Justice Department files prompted the king to strip his brother of his remaining royal titles, including the right to be called a prince.

Charles also ordered his brother to vacate Royal Lodge, a 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle that is owned by the crown and managed for the benefit of taxpayers.

Mountbatten-Windsor left his longtime home last week months ahead of schedule. He is now living on the Sandringham Estate in eastern England, which is privately owned by the king.

The fallout from the scandal remains a "massive problem" for the monarchy's future, Owens said.

The king's decision to cooperate with a potential investigation means the palace may turn over documents and allow staff, or even members of the royal family, to be interviewed by police.

"This is going to lead to more unwanted headlines," Owens said. "But this is how you exorcise the demon of Jeffrey Epstein."