King Charles will fully cut Prince Andrew out of life

King Charles faces one of the most delicate challenges of his reign as renewed scrutiny falls on his brother, Prince Andrew, over ties to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. 

With the monarchy striving to project stability and integrity, the question now being asked is whether the King can continue to stand by Andrew or whether it is time to finally draw a line.

Files handed to the U.S. House Oversight Committee by the Jeffrey Epstein Estate included a flight manifest from May 2000 listing Prince Andrew as a passenger on a journey from New Jersey to Florida. Also on board were Epstein himself and his associate, Ghislaine Maxwell.

Ghislaine was convicted in 2021 of conspiring with him to traffic girls for sex. Jeffrey himself, a convicted paedophile, died in prison while awaiting further charges.

Back in 2011, the Duchess of York admitted to a serious lapse in judgment when she accepted £15,000 from Epstein. 

In an interview with the Evening Standard, she apologised, declaring, “I abhor paedophilia and any sexual abuse of children and know that this was a gigantic error of judgment on my behalf. I am just so contrite I cannot say. 

Whenever I can, I will repay the money and have nothing ever to do with Jeffrey Epstein ever again.”

But just weeks later, her tone appeared markedly different in a private email to Epstein. In it, she described him as a “steadfast, generous and supreme friend,” while apologising for stepping back under pressure. 

“I was broken and lost,” she wrote. “I didn’t want to hurt Andrew one more time. I was in overriding fear. I am sorry.”

The fallout continues to damage the Duke of York, whose ties to Epstein persisted even after his initial convictions. 

That friendship has already cost him dearly. His role as a working royal, his patronages, and financial support from the Sovereign Grant all stripped away in the wake of Epstein’s death in 2019.

He continues to reside at Royal Lodge, and though the King no longer covers his security or housing, the duke’s prominence at royal events still raises eyebrows.

At the Christmas Day service in Sandringham and, more recently, at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral, Andrew and Sarah Ferguson were positioned near the front at times standing shoulder to shoulder with the King. 

While Andrew’s attendance at a family funeral is his right, the optics of such closeness send a powerful message.

For a man whose reputation remains mired in scandal, that message is one many argue the monarchy can ill afford.