The king’s brother is arrested. Police officers search two royal residences. Television networks debate nonstop about a sex scandal, trade contacts, and a dead man in a New York prison cell. And while the country stares at screens, Charles III sits in the front row at London Fashion Week. Queen Camilla attends a concert. Princess Anne visits a prison. The machinery continues as if nothing had happened. Yet something historic has happened.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was briefly arrested on 2.19
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, known as Prince Andrew until October, was held for eleven hours and then released under investigation. The allegation: misconduct in public office. Specifically, he is suspected of having passed confidential information to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the United Kingdom’s special envoy for international trade. Epstein took his own life in 2019 in a prison cell in New York. Investigators must now prove that Mountbatten-Windsor was indeed acting as a public official and knowingly breached his duties - that he abused the public trust. Legally, that is no small step. Politically, however, the damage is already done.
ROYAL COMMUNICATIONS
Thursday, February 19, 2026A STATEMENT BY HIS MAJESTY THE KING
It is with deepest concern that I have taken note of the news regarding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and the suspicion of misconduct in public office. There will now follow the full, fair, and proper process in which this matter will be investigated appropriately and by the competent authorities. In this, as I have previously stated, they have our full and unrestricted support and cooperation.
Let me be clear: The law must take its course.
While these proceedings continue, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on this matter. In the meantime, my family and I will continue to fulfill our duties and service to you all.
Charles R.
The king felt compelled to address the public. In a brief statement he promised support for the investigation and signed it “Charles R.” - Rex, King - writing that his family would continue their service. That statement alone shows how serious the situation is. Commentators searched for historical parallels and did not end up in recent decades, but in the 17th century with the arrest and execution of Charles I of England. One must go back that far to find a similar shock. A more realistic comparison is 1936: Edward VIII abdicated in order to marry Wallis Simpson. The monarchy staggered. Only under George VI did it stabilize again - because he remained in the country during the war and did not flee.
Today there is no clear exit. Edward abdicated, the matter was settled. In Andrew’s case, nothing is settled. The investigations are ongoing. At least eight police forces are examining matters connected to the newly released files from the United States. The British state is even considering formally removing him from the line of succession. He currently stands eighth. That can only be changed by legislation. The pressure does not end with him. An uncomfortable question hangs in the air: Who knew what - and when? Were warnings issued during his ten years as trade envoy? Did anyone respond? Or did no one want to know too precisely?
The palace has tried to draw a clear line. Titles revoked. Military honors stripped. No more “Prince.” But blood remains blood. The public does not draw fine distinctions between institution and family. The last major moment when the Crown learned how vulnerable it is came after the death of Diana, Princess of Wales. At that time the court reacted too slowly to the wave of grief. Tens of thousands laid flowers outside Kensington Palace. The accusation was that the family no longer understood the country. Only afterward did a cautious course correction begin. More proximity. More openness.
Artist Kaya Mar presents the latest edition of his paintings in front of Buckingham Palace in London to media representatives on Friday, February 20, 2026. The occasion is the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who had been detained for several hours the previous day by British police on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
But 2026 is not 1997. The media landscape is faster, harsher, more relentless. Documents are released, analyzed, dissected. Demands for transparency are no longer polite requests. They are a permanent condition. For Charles III, this is a double test. He is the first monarch who cannot rely on deference. He must explain. React. Actively defend trust. The best case scenario for the House of Windsor would be a narrowly confined criminal clarification focused solely on concrete documents. The worst would be an expansion of the investigation into the surrounding circle - into staff, advisers, structures.
The monarchy has survived crises. Abdications. Wars. Divorces. Scandals. But rarely has it faced the pressure to justify itself simultaneously in legal, moral, and institutional terms. The decisive question is not only whether Andrew is guilty. The decisive question is whether the Crown can prove that it has concealed nothing. And one more question remains in the air, unspoken, but urgent:
Are there further files?
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Sehr interessante Informationen.
Andrew bleibt ein Bruder, ein Vater, ein Onkel.
Aber zum Schutz der Monarchie und um ein klares Signal zu senden -bevor die Ermittlungen boch mehr answer Licht bringen- wäre es mehr wie sinnvoll Andrew aus der Thronfolge zu entfernen.
Das gab es noch nie.
Aber würde zeigen, dass „blaues Blut“ kein Freifahrtschein ist und die Krone sein Verhalten nicht toleriert.
Zu lange standen die Queen und Charles hinter Andrew.
Was genau sie wann wussten?
Vielleicht kommt es ans Licht.
King Charles wird diesen Makel nicht los.
Viele Engländer betrachten ihn nicht als „ihren König“.
Eine Übergabe an Prinz William wäre eine Option.
Ein kompletter Schlusstrich.
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