In yet another illustration of why King Charles is so unwise to keep indulging ex-prince Andrew and the wider York family, the former duke was photographed today being whisked through the gates of St James’s Palace in London at precisely the same moment that a fresh batch of Jeffrey Epstein–related images were published online, courtesy of the House Oversight Committee in the United States.
Yes, as Andrew was slipping into the Chapel Royal, one of the most privileged and symbolic royal spaces in the country, up popped an image from Epstein’s collection of Andrew alongside Bill Gates.
This was not a secret snapshot, however, but a cropped version of a professionally-taken image. The full photograph shows Andrew and Gates standing alongside King Charles (then Prince of Wales) at a malaria summit in London in April 2018.
Being in a photograph, of course, is not evidence of wrongdoing. Still, one obvious and troubling question remains: why was Epstein receiving or recording this image?
In a nutshell, the problem is that this scandal is not going away. It keeps resurfacing, keeps mutating—and keeps embarrassing the monarchy.
And still, the King’s household allowed Andrew and Sarah Ferguson to attend a family christening in the Chapel Royal—a breathtakingly lavish jewel of Tudor design, one of the most inaccessible and private spaces in the royal world.
The king didn’t attend, nor did William and Catherine, which tells you that senior royals had no wish to be in the same room as Andrew. But why was he there at all then, enjoying access to royal spaces and rituals as if nothing had changed?
The question is not whether Andrew’s daughters deserve to be punished for his sins; I’m not saying Andrew shouldn’t be invited to his grandchild’s christening. I am saying that Charles was foolish to allow this event to take place on hallowed royal ground. There is a difference between allowing a disgraced family member to attend a private event and allowing that event to take place on the royal estate, in a royal chapel, steeped in royal symbolism.
The Chapel Royal is not a parish church that you can simply book for the afternoon. It is a highly privileged royal institution. Letting Andrew and family use it sends a message that, despite everything, the Yorks remain embedded in the ceremonial life of the monarchy.
Every such concession feeds the impression that nothing has really changed, and ensures that the Andrew problem will run and run.
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