The eviction of the former prince now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the 30-room mansion he had leased near Windsor Castle came to fruition early this past week.
That eviction from a property on the Crown Estate is but one part of the multi-faceted fallout in the scandal surrounding his association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew, 65, was reportedly in no hurry to leave Royal Lodge and move to King Charles’s private estate of Sandringham, northeast of London.
But his departure — under the cover of darkness, according to British media reports — came just days after another tranche of Epstein documents released in the U.S. included questionable photos of Andrew, and the BBC reported new allegations linking the two men. Among the photos were ones that appeared to show Andrew crouched on his hands and knees over a woman lying on the floor.
As much as the move to Sandringham may be intended to further isolate Andrew, there is no sense the scrutiny and controversy surrounding the King’s younger brother will abate.
Amid that scrutiny there is growing pressure on Andrew — including from U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer — to testify in the U.S. about what he knows about Epstein.
Former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is facing more scrutiny after a new tranche of Epstein files uncovered questionable photos and the BBC aired new allegations from a woman linking the two men.
“This question of Andrew testifying won’t go away,” Craig Prescott, a constitutional expert and lecturer in law at Royal Holloway, University of London, said in an interview.
“As to whether he actually does or not … I think it’s very unlikely because if he says, ‘Oh, I saw all this’ and what have you, it’d be like: ‘Well, why didn’t you come out earlier?’
“And if he says he didn’t see anything, no one would really believe him.”
It’s a situation, Prescott said, “where there’s no good outcome for Andrew, and by extension no real good outcome for the Royal Family.”
Whether Starmer said with or without King Charles’s approval that Andrew should testify before the U.S. Congress is an interesting question, Prescott said.
He says it shows how far Andrew has fallen: “There’s no element of protecting … Andrew anymore.”
An email in the Jeffrey Epstein files believed to have been written by Ghislaine Maxwell appears to confirm that a photograph of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with his arm around Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexual abuse, is real.
The controversy around Andrew has been growing for several years, especially since 2019 when he stepped back from official royal duties after a disastrous BBC interview regarding his friendship with Epstein.
Andrew, who has continued to deny all allegations against him, also agreed to settle a lawsuit in which he was accused of sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre.
An email in the tranche released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Jan. 30 also appears to confirm a photo of Guiffre with Andrew. Giuffre, who accused Andrew and other influential men of sexually exploiting her as a teenager trafficked by Epstein, died by suicide in April 2025.
“This story isn’t going away,” Chandrika Kaul, a professor of modern history at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland, said in an interview.
This is, she said, a “problem quote-unquote” that the Royal Family, “short of disowning Andrew, short of … technically making him leave the country, which I doubt will happen … it isn’t something that they can push under the carpet.”
The Royal Family has been clear about distancing themselves from Andrew in various ways, said Kaul.
“First, I think it’s they’re dealing with this at a personal level, making sure he’s out of that house, which he is now,” she said in an interview.
“And secondly, I think there’s going to be … even greater distancing at a personal level, by which I mean we may not see Andrew appear in … family events.”
Charles is “very aware” of public feelings about Andrew, Kaul said.
“The King is not in a place where he can actually engage meaningfully with Andrew. He simply isn’t, and he knows that public opinion will not have any sympathy.”
In fact, King Charles and Queen Camilla were heckled Thursday during a walkabout in a village northeast of London.
“Charles, Charles, have you pressurized the police to start investigating Andrew?” the heckler shouted.
Police approached the man, the BBC reported, and walked away with him.
Beyond dealing specifically with Andrew, the controversy surrounding him could force the Royal Family to more broadly consider how the House of Windsor is perceived publicly.
“They’ll have to double down on the good stuff that they’re doing,” said Prescott. “They’ll have to think about that and again, think about modernization.”
Kaul looks at the current Royal Family and sees them broadly working toward a “Brand Windsor” that differs from how they worked and were perceived under Queen Elizabeth before her death in 2022.
“One of the things with Andrew is that he’s made the Royal Family not just a laughingstock at home, but seemingly around the world,” Kaul said. “That has an impact that they’re having to deal with. That’s the flip side of living in a media age.”
One very basic way of addressing that, Kaul said, is trying to ensure that the monarchy as an institution remains relevant and that its support “matters to 21st century domestic and global audiences because it is speaking to their interests and concerns.”
It’s not enough to do good, she said.
“It’s much more important to be seen to be doing good and to speak to concerns of today.”
With files from CBC News
King Charles finds harmony in nature
One way that the Royal Family may be trying to shape that “Brand Windsor” Kaul mentioned above dropped Friday on Amazon’s Prime Video.
In the documentary Finding Harmony: A King’s Vision, Charles puts forth his contention that humans need to work in step with the natural world.
“We are nature ourselves — we are a part of it, not apart from it,” Charles says in the 89-minute film that had an official and star-studded launch at Windsor Castle last week.
Kaul said the documentary is “marketing on a global scale with a very strong personal stamp of Charles.”
She was also struck by Charles offering his view that we are all part of nature.
“I think this ties in with some of his spiritual beliefs, too.”
His comments in the film show “a certain depth of character” and “a certain intellectual approach,” said Kaul.
Charles had done documentaries in the past as Prince of Wales, but this one shows how he differs from his mother, Queen Elizabeth, as a monarch, Prescott said before the film dropped.
Charles became monarch with his position and interest in environmental matters well-known.
“He comes into the role as King with all of this attached to him whereas the Queen was very much a blank slate really by comparison,” Prescott said.
The film could, he said, be “showing a different perspective on monarchy, and in a sense how the role … can change from monarch to monarch within the constitutional boundaries.”
British media reports drew much attention to what the BBC described as the film’s “glitzy premiere” in the Waterloo Chamber at Windsor Castle.
The film was made in collaboration with Charles’s King’s Foundation charity and was narrated by actor Kate Winslet, an ambassador for the foundation who was at the castle for the premiere.
Charles has always used celebrities in this way, Prescott said, noting that his previous Prince’s Trust had its own share of flashy events to raise money and to gain attention.
“It’s an example of the convening power of the monarchy, but just in this sense in quite a glitzy way.”
Prescott also noted that the documentary appeared on a streaming site, reflecting how the monarchy is not immune from changes in the media world.
“When people aren’t connected to the linear channels in the same way, it makes sense to not do everything via the BBC or ITV and to go where the public are, which is to some extent on streaming services.”
No worries about the rain
Another member of the Royal Family had nature on her mind recently, and communed with it, even though the elements were less than ideal.
Catherine, Princess of Wales, went on a well-being walk in northern England in connection with work by a charity that provides mental health support via therapeutic outdoor experiences.
This experience, however, came complete with rain, mud and a degree of determination from Catherine, who told those along for the trek that “nothing is going to stop us.” (She did, however, check to make sure they were happy to keep going in the inclement weather, the BBC reported.)
The trek was, Prescott said, another example of Catherine’s slow and steady return to life as a full-time working royal after her treatment for an undisclosed form of cancer in 2024.
“It shows that she’s made the recovery from cancer,” Prescott said. “It shows a very strong interest in nature and healing.”
Nature was at the heart of a series of four seasonal videos she released. The most recent one — focusing on winter — appeared on her 44th birthday last month. Nature was also a strong theme in the video released after she completed her chemotherapy treatment.
Catherine, the Princess of Wales, has finished her chemotherapy treatment, and will gradually be returning to public life. She shared the update, and reflections on her battle, in a rare, polished and positive video with her family.
The Royal Family for the past 100 years or so has been “very outdoorsy” and “had a very strong connection with nature,” Kaul said.
“That’s really part of the DNA of the … modern Windsor family. So I think [Catherine] in that sense really very much fits the mold.”
Royally quotable
“Please know you are not alone.”
— Catherine, Princess of Wales, in a video message to mark World Cancer Day.
Catherine, who has said she is in remission from an undisclosed form of cancer, said her “thoughts are with everyone who is facing a cancer diagnosis, undergoing treatment or finding their way through recovery.”
She spoke of how cancer touches the lives not only of patients, but also of the families, friends and caregivers “who walk beside them.”
“As anyone who has experienced this journey will know, it’s not linear. There are moments of fear and exhaustion. But also moments of strength, kindness, and profound connection.”
Royal reads
King Charles and Queen Camilla met Holocaust survivors and lit candles of remembrance at Buckingham Palace to mark the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. [BBC]
The Princess of Wales was praised for her skills with a needle and thread after travelling to west Wales to celebrate some of the country’s leading textile producers. [BBC]
Campaigners trying to prevent the closure of the U.K.’s oldest surviving Indian restaurant are going to take a petition to Buckingham Palace in the next few weeks, calling on King Charles to intervene. [BBC]
King Charles and Queen Camilla have been seen for the first time in their new electric Lotus Eletre sports car. [Daily Mail]
Anne Boleyn’s Hever Rose portrait is one of history’s most iconic faces, with her “B” pendant, her French hood, her dark eyes and a red rose in her right hand. Now, a secret that has remained hidden for nearly 500 years has been discovered beneath the layers of paint. [The Guardian]
