'King Charles act fast or face existential crisis' over Andrew scandal

It appears statements from King Charles and Prince William are not enough over Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's ties with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, says a royal expert.

Peter Hunt, the former BBC royal correspondent, rings the alarm bell that the royal family will face an "existential crisis if they do not act fast."

"The demands for accountability are only going to grow," the post read on X, adding that statements are not enough to douse the fire.

Hunt also took aim at what he describes as traditional royal strategy, involving carefully worded statements.

But he believes that strategy will not work in Andrew's scandal. Instead, what will satisfy public scrutiny is action, not words.

"As I said on @BBCNewsnight, Charles and William must act fast, and not just hide behind bland statements," Hunt is referring to his earlier remarks on BBC Newsnight where he said, "They will be panicking, because they are not in control."

"If they don’t, they face an existential crisis they are stunningly ill equipped to deal with," Hunt warns.

His warning follows Juliette Bryant, a survivor of Epstein's abuse, who interviewed with the BBC, calling on the royal family to thoroughly investigate Andrew's links with the sex offender in the latter's infamous files.

Her comments align with Hunt's observation, as she urges The Firm to take action, rather than make statements. "I just hope they're not just saying this. I would like to see them actually taking action".

"They need to go through all Prince Andrew's files and emails," Bryant says, adding, "I think it's about time they went through his information, since he was actually Epstein's friend."

"I think that they should be releasing information if they have nothing to hide," she concludes.

Authorities, on the other hand, have announced they have begun assessing whether there is enough to justify an investigation into Andrew's alleged misuse of his position as the UK's trade envoy to help Epstein.