The final line of King Charles’s statement on Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s arrest clearly illustrated where senior royals were focusing.
While many highlighted “let me state clearly: the law must take its course” as the key sentence in the King’s message, the monarch chose to end the statement with the vow “my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.”
Just hours later, that is exactly what the Royal Family did.
Queen Camilla visited Sinfonia Smith Square Hall to meet musicians, becoming the first royal to step out after the former Duke of York’s arrest.
The final line of King Charles’s statement on Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s arrest clearly illustrated where senior royals were focusing.
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All three of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s siblings also carried out royal engagements on Thursday, with Princess Anne and Prince Edward travelling to Leeds and Inverclyde, respectively, while King Charles opened London Fashion Week.
The King’s relaxed demeanour throughout the engagement signalled to the world that, from his perspective, it was business as usual for the Royal Family.
However, the reaction from the public upon the King’s arrival at London Fashion Week was noticeably different to his usual reception.
Onlookers who were gathered along the streets let out audible gasps as his royal vehicle arrived.
Dressed in a dark suit, the monarch stepped from his car to a cacophony of voices from the assembled crowd.
The King’s relaxed demeanour throughout the engagement signalled to the world that, from his perspective, it was business as usual for the Royal Family.
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Journalists called out questions concerning Andrew’s detention as King entered the venue, though he offered no reply.
Queen Camilla also faced questions on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as she left her engagement, but also chose not to answer them.
In truth, the Royal Family had very little time to react following Andrew’s arrest.
Thames Valley Police did not inform King Charles or Buckingham Palace before arresting Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office, GB News understands.
With no heads up prior to the arrest and four engagements already scheduled for the afternoon, the Royal Family pressed on with their duties.
Thames Valley Police did not inform King Charles or Buckingham Palace before arresting Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office, GB News understands.
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The monarch’s statement was released at 12pm but just minutes later, a new bombshell poll dropped, which revealed several worrying trends for senior royals.
The data, collected before Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, showed that public perception of the monarchy is down in almost every measure.
Polling taken by Ipsos between February 13th and 16th outlined a significant drop in popularity for the Royal Family over the last three months when compared to November 2025’s data.
The most recent release of the Epstein files, which contained documents showing alleged correspondence between Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was made public in January 2026.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied the allegations against him, and appearing in the Epstein files is not evidence of any wrongdoing. Inclusion in the documents does not implicate anyone in Epstein’s criminality.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied the allegations against him, and appearing in the Epstein files is not evidence of any wrongdoing. Inclusion in the documents does not implicate anyone in Epstein’s criminality.
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GB NEWS
The polling showed that less than a third of the British public believe the Royal Family has dealt with situation surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor well since allegations were first made against him.
Only 28 per cent believe that the actions King Charles has taken have been adequate.
However, the most damning data showed that every single senior member of the Royal Family saw their individual popularity decrease from November 2025 to February 2026, with future king Prince William suffering an eight per cent drop.
Additionally, the Royal Family’s popularity with the British public as an institution decreased by seven per cent.
The most damning data showed that every single senior member of the Royal Family saw their individual popularity decrease from November 2025 to February 2026, with future king Prince William suffering an eight per cent drop.
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IPSOS
Ipsos sampled 1,086 members of the public from ages 18-75 across the three days to accumilate the data.
The small sample size means the polling should be seen as a warning rather than a hammer blow to the Royal Family.
However, the data demonstrates that scandals surrounding members of the Royal Family, even non-working former royals who have their titles removed, undermine trust and favourability with the public.
King Charles and senior members of the monarchy will be fearful that further negative headlines could lead to a much greater plummet.