News Analysis
The decision by King Charles III to strip the title of his brother Prince Andrew showed a level of accountability rarely applied to royals.
Reporting from London
When Prince Charles ascended the throne in 2022, royal watchers predicted he would be a cautious reformer, edging Britain’s ancient monarchy toward a more open, inclusive and accountable style. Few predicted that exiling his wayward younger brother, Andrew, would be a defining moment in that project.
King Charles III’s decision this week to strip Andrew of his title as a prince, turning him into Mr. Mountbatten Windsor, is a watershed in the history of the royal family — an act so legally complicated, politically sensitive and emotionally fraught that it left royal historians casting about for a precedent.
At one level, Charles’s move is a concession that a decade of half measures was not enough to quell the public outcry over allegations of sexual misconduct against Andrew and his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender. At another level, it is an affirmation that royals, too, can be held accountable.
“These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement whose passive voice did little to disguise the hammer blow.
For those who parse royal communications, the next line was equally noteworthy. “Their Majesties,” the statement concluded, “wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
That likely signaled the endorsement of Charles’s wife, Queen Camilla, who has never been close to Andrew, according to people who worked at the palace. She also supports charities that work for victims of rape and sexual abuse.
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Source: www.nytimes.com