The royal family is facing intense pressure to address Prince Andrew’s links to Jeffrey Epstein, with growing calls from MPs, campaigners, and the public for a police investigation into the Prince’s actions and for mechanisms to formally strip him of his titles. This follows a series of allegations that have cast a dark shadow over the Duke of York, particularly concerning claims that he sought to use his position to smear Virginia Giuffre, the woman who accused him of sexual assault.
The Metropolitan Police have confirmed they are investigating claims that Prince Andrew asked his bodyguard to gather information about Giuffre, including her date of birth and social security number, just hours before the infamous photograph of him with Giuffre was published in 2011. This has raised further questions about the Prince’s actions during the scandal and his attempts to intimidate his accuser. Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, described leaked emails in which Andrew allegedly passed this information to his bodyguard as “deeply concerning.”
Andrew has already relinquished the use of his HRH title and stepped down from public life, but the matter of his official titles, including the Duke of York, remains unresolved. The royal family’s reluctance to strip him of his titles has sparked criticism from MPs such as Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central, who is calling for an act of Parliament to grant the monarch or a parliamentary committee the power to remove titles from members of the royal family. “Every time this comes up, it’s clearly really traumatising for the victims and survivors, so it’s really important that this matter is dealt with once and for all,” Maskell said, advocating for clear mechanisms to remove titles.
The Labour MP for Nottingham East, Nadia Whittome, emphasized the need for action, stating that it should not be left up to Andrew to voluntarily renounce his titles. “It should be a given that the state removes Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s titles, rather than allowing him to hide behind voluntarily renouncing them,” she said. Maskell had proposed a bill in 2022 that would allow Parliament to formally remove titles, a law similar to the one enacted in 1917 that stripped titles from peers and princes who fought against Britain during World War I.
Additionally, some members of Parliament have called for a full police investigation into Andrew’s connections to Epstein. Clive Lewis, the Labour MP for Norwich South, stressed the need for a thorough inquiry into what happened, pointing to Andrew’s sense of entitlement as a prince and questioning the broader role of the monarchy in enabling such behavior. “The bigger story here is the monarchy itself,” Lewis said. “It poses some very difficult questions about how power operates in this country.”
The scandal has also sparked a broader debate about the restrictions on Parliament’s ability to scrutinize the royal family. George Foulkes, a Labour peer, highlighted that the House of Lords had previously rejected questions about Andrew’s role as a UK special representative for trade and investment, citing parliamentary rules that prevent questions that could “cast reflections on the sovereign or the royal family.” Foulkes has called for these rules to be revisited in light of recent events.
Public pressure is mounting as over 1,000 letters were sent to MPs urging them to push for a full parliamentary or independent inquiry into the royal-Epstein scandal. Graham Smith, the spokesperson for the campaign group Republic, argued that it is not credible to believe that the Metropolitan Police did not inform senior royals about Andrew’s attempts to smear Giuffre. He also criticized the police for refusing to investigate, interview, or charge Andrew. “Public anger is what’s going to push this forward,” Smith said, noting the widespread frustration that Andrew’s voluntary renouncement of his titles has not been enough of a consequence for his alleged actions.
The story continues to unfold, with leaks from Giuffre’s posthumous memoir revealing her perspective on her encounter with Prince Andrew, claiming he believed having sex with her was his “birthright.” Leaked emails also suggest that Andrew attempted to use his royal status to gather damaging information on Giuffre in the months leading up to the publication of the infamous photo. This new evidence, coupled with the public’s growing dissatisfaction, may force the royal family and authorities to reconsider their handling of the matter and take further action.
The calls for accountability are only intensifying, with more MPs and public figures joining the debate over the future of Andrew’s royal titles and the investigation into his relationship with Epstein. With the situation continuing to evolve, it remains to be seen whether Parliament will act decisively to address the growing calls for justice and transparency.
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