Disgraced royal Andrew Windsor isn’t the only one in the family with shame.MEGA; UNSPLASH
The former Prince Andrew’s association with Jeffrey Epstein has come to define a modern royal crisis so corrosive even the royal family’s epic catalogue of scandal struggles to rival it – and RadarOnline.com has the details of The Firm’s most shameful episodes.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, stepped back from public life in 2019 after his friendship with the convicted s– offender erupted into a global controversy.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor stepped back from public life in 2019 following a disastrous interview.MEGA
The damage intensified following his BBC Newsnight interview, in which he claimed he was unable to sweat and insisted he had been at a Pizza Express on the night he was accused of sleeping with a trafficked teenager. Days later, he withdrew from royal duties.
Then in 2022, he reached an out-of-court settlement with Epstein s– trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre in a U.S. civil case, without admitting liability.
Queen Elizabeth II stripped him of his military titles and royal patronages, and he no longer uses the style “His Royal Highness” in any official capacity. Andrew has consistently denied wrongdoing.
‘Squidgygate’ and ‘Tampongate’
The ‘Tampongate’ scandal ignited massive public embarrassment for the then-Prince Charles.MEGA
The scale of reputational fallout may feel unprecedented, but scandal has shadowed the monarchy for generations. In 1936, King Edward VIII abdicated to marry Wallis Simpson, telling the nation he could not carry out his duties “without the help and support of the woman I love.”
The constitutional rupture reshaped the line of succession and ultimately paved the way for Queen Elizabeth II’s 70-year reign.
Personal crises have repeatedly spilled into public view. In 1992, the year the late Queen described as her “annus horribilis,” three of her four children saw their marriages collapse, and Windsor Castle suffered a devastating fire. Public debate raged over who should fund repairs, amplifying scrutiny of royal privilege.
That same year, so-called Squidgygate exposed an intimate phone call between Princess Diana and James Gilbey, who repeatedly called her “Squidgy.”
Months later, “Tampongate” saw a leaked conversation between then-Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles ignite huge embarrassment when Charles joked about his desire to get very close to Camilla.
The Royal’s Long Shadow of Media Fallout
Prince Harry wore a controversial Nazi costume to a party in 2005.MEGA
The breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage unfolded in stages between 1992 and 1996, culminating in Diana’s bombshell 1995 Panorama interview with Martin Bashir. Her remark, “there were three of us in this marriage,” in reference to Charles’ love for Camilla, became emblematic of her royal candor. Decades later, an inquiry found Bashir had used deceit to secure the interview.
Prince Harry said: “It is my firm view that this Panorama programme holds no legitimacy and should never be aired again. It effectively established a false narrative which, for over a quarter of a century, has been commercialized by the BBC and others.”
His brother Prince William added, “Our mother was an incredible woman who dedicated her life to service. She was resilient, brave, and unquestionably honest. The ripple effect of a culture of exploitation and unethical practices ultimately took her life.”
Other crises ranged from Princess Anne’s 1974 kidnapping attempt, during which she reportedly told her attacker it was “not bloody likely” she would comply, to Sarah Ferguson’s 1992 “toe-sucking” photographs, and Prince Harry’s 2005 Nazi costume scandal and photos emerging of him naked while partying in Las Vegas.
More recently, Harry’s 2020 departure to the U.S. with Meghan Markle, widely dubbed “Megxit,” and his 2023 memoir Spare have tested royal unity in the digital age.
Andrew Windsor reached an out-of-court settlement with Virginia Giuffre in 2022.MEGA
Yet Andrew’s Epstein disgrace stands apart. A photograph of him with Giuffre and renewed calls from U.S. and U.K. officials for him to give evidence in America following the release of millions of partially redacted Epstein files in the States have kept the controversy alive.
From abdication to tell-all memoirs, the monarchy has repeatedly adapted to survive.
But Andrew’s scandal, rooted not in romance or rivalry but in association with sexual exploitation, has struck at deeper questions of accountability, privilege, and institutional transparency than any tabloid frenzy before it.