“Should the King say sorry?” was the subject of one discussion. “Does the King need to apologize to Epstein’s victims?” was another. This is just a flavor of the ongoing debate surrounding the royal family in the UK since the latest release of the Epstein Files has thrown up more allegations against the former Prince Andrew.
In recent days, the royals have faced unprecedented heckling on official engagements and also released unprecedented statements. Prince William and Kate made their first public comment in relation to Epstein via Kensington Palace on Monday, and on the same day Buckingham Palace released a statement saying they “stand ready to support” Police as they assess claims over Andrew.
The King has already taken away all his brother’s titles and severed his ties to the monarchy, but his links to Epstein continues to dominate the narrative. And new polling has indicated that the British public is divided about how the royals have handled, and should continue to handle, the scandal.
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Melania Trump, Prince Andrew, Gwendolyn Beck and Jeffrey Epstein at a party at the Mar-a-Lago club, Palm Beach, Florida, February 12, 2000.
One survey by YouGov of 7,000 British adults found that 51% of people think the royal family should have done more to condemn Prince Andrew. But the study, carried out on February 9 this year, showed that 32% think they have mostly taken the right approach.
A different survey of more than 2,200 British adults, carried out by YouGov for Sky News, has also painted a picture of the British public being split on the King’s response. When asked, “How well or badly do you think King Charles has responded to allegations about the former Prince Andrew and his connections to Jeffrey Epstein?” 45% in total thought he had responded well while 29% felt he had responded badly.
And when it comes how the royals should handle things now, there are also differing views. The survey for Sky asked “Do you think the King should or should not make an apology to Jeffrey Epstein’s victims on behalf of the Royal Family?” To this, 35% said he should, 45% said he should not, and the rest said they don’t know.
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Andrew, King Charles, and Prince William in September 2025.
Public opinion is more united, however, on the question of whether the King should encourage Andrew to give evidence to American police, with 82% answering he should. And a significant majority of 63% thought that the King should stop Andrew living on the Sandringham estate versus just 16% who thought he should not stop him.
The release of the Epstein Files has sparked huge debate around Andrew after the extent of his relationship with Epstein was revealed through multiple documents. The files show that he maintained contact with Epstein beyond 2010—the date he told Newsnight he had severed ties.
Police have said they are assessing allegations of misconduct in public office in relation to Andrew. Documents in the Epstein Files showed that the then Prince forwarded information to Epstein that he received in his role as UK Trade Envoy.
Andrew has always denied any wrongdoing.
Town & Country Contributing Editor Victoria Murphy has reported on the British Royal Family since 2010. She has interviewed Prince Harry and has travelled the world covering several royal tours. She is a frequent contributor to Good Morning America. Victoria authored Town & Country book The Queen: A Life in Pictures, released in 2021.