Content warning: discussions of sexual assault, rape, murder, suicide
If Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s actions do not deter you from supporting the royal family, then there is something truly wrong with you. Andrew’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public offices is just the latest example of years of corruption within the royal family. For years, Andrew has been able to associate with one of history’s most notorious sex traffickers without consequence. How can this family legitimately lead and represent this country?
His arrest does not go far enough, as no legal body has mentioned sexual offences as of yet. In 2021, Andrew was accused of raping and sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre on three separate occasions. She was 17 at the time of the alleged assault. The late Queen Elizabeth and then-Prince Charles paid £12 million in an out-of-court settlement meaning Andrew was never tried; does this sound like the actions of an innocent man with a blissfully unaware family? Giuffre took her own life in 2025 as a result of a lifetime of abuse. Andrew continuously called her a liar and argued that he had no recollection of meeting her, despite the infamous photo of the two of them alongside Jeffrey Epstein’s associate and convicted sex trafficker, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The late Queen Elizabeth and then-Prince Charles paid £12 million in an out-of-court settlement meaning Andrew was never tried
The ‘Epstein files’ are extensive, and paint a disturbing picture of a network of abuse, rape, sex trafficking, child molestation, and murder. There are around three million files currently released to the public (all of which are heavily redacted) and 2462 of these files contain the words ‘Prince Andrew’ (as of 26 February 2026). Andrew has not yet been charged with sexual offences, however his close, personal relationship with Jeffrey Epstein speaks for itself. The former Prince’s actions are a disgrace not only to his family but also to this country.
Andrew’s association with Epstein continued after the child-sex conviction, with the former-Prince inviting the paedophile to Buckingham Palace for dinner. This sentence alone should deter any reasonable person from a monarchist standpoint.
We cannot stoop to the level of the US, whose President appears in the Epstein files an estimated 5300 times. The US are mocked for allowing a 34 count felon to serve a second term as President, meaning we must not allow Andrew’s actions to continue to go unpunished. It would be unacceptable to allow such behaviour: stripping him of his titles and duties is not enough. The US has not been able to keep Donald Trump out of office, clearly indicating that strong, inflexible opposition to Andrew is necessary. We, as a nation, are not outraged enough about Andrew’s alleged actions and we must continue to advocate for justice.
the US, whose President appears in the Epstein files an estimated 5300 times
So what does this mean for the future of the royal family? Realistically, nothing will happen; they are protected by status, wealth and quite frankly, the world. The people of Britain do not have the drive to overthrow the monarchy, despite this option seemingly becoming more and more attractive.
Monarchists often claim that the royal family generates such significant revenue from tourism that they are too beneficial to abolish. In 2022 the monarchy brought in less than £60 million through tourism and in the same year they spent £102.4 million. This figure is separate from Queen Elizabeth’s ‘period of national mourning’, which cost the taxpayer an estimated £162 million in September 2022.
The Palace of Versailles in France (who overthrew their monarchy in 1792), draws in nearly 10 million visitors annually, whilst Buckingham Palace receives less than 5 per cent of that number, with an average of 445,000 visitors annually. We do not need the monarchy in order to maintain a thriving tourism trade. As France has shown, we can simply keep the buildings.
Regardless of your opinion on the status of the royal family, if Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s actions do not make you feel viscerally sick, there is something truly wrong with you. Surely you cannot argue that the royal family are one of the best things about the UK when the eighth in line to the throne has not only been in a close, personal relationship with one of the most notorious sex traffickers in history, but has also just been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public offices. We cannot stoop to the lows of the US, letting a sex offender rise to be the most powerful man in the world: the Monarchy has to go.
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