Latest / The Front / Rex vs Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor: it’s brother against brother

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Rex vs Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor: it’s brother against brother · The Front

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  Speaker 1: Today's biggest News from The Australian. I'm Claire Harvey with
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  Speaker 1: a special edition of the Front on the arrest of
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  Speaker 1: Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. The man formerly known as the Duke
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  Speaker 1: of York and Prince Andrew, is free from custody after
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  Speaker 1: being arrested early in the morning of his sixty sixth birthday.
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  Speaker 1: No charges have been laid, but police say they are
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  Speaker 1: investigating allegations of misconduct in public office, an offense that
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  Speaker 1: carries a potential maximum penalty of twenty years imprisonment. Thames
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  Speaker 1: Valley Police seized computers and other items from Andrew's present home,
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  Speaker 1: Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate and his former house,
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  Speaker 1: Royal Lodge, on the Windsor estate. The investigation relates to
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  Speaker 1: alleged communications between Andrew and the late convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein,
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  Speaker 1: and documents released by the US Department of Justice that
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  Speaker 1: appear to show Mountbatton Windsor sending Epstein trade information obtained
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  Speaker 1: in Andrew's capacity as Britain's Special Envoy for international trade.
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  Speaker 1: Mount Batton Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing, including in
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  Speaker 1: relation to the allegations he had sex with young women
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  Speaker 1: trafficked to him by Epstein and his girlfriend Gilain Maxwell,
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  Speaker 1: who's serving two decades in prison for child sex trafficking. Today,
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  Speaker 1: Europe correspondent Jacqueline Magne joins us to explore this wild
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  Speaker 1: new world for the Royal family.
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  Speaker 2: Police have arrested Andrew mount Batton Windsor.
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  Speaker 1: This astonishing development is actually taking place on his sixty
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  Speaker 1: sixth birthday. Injustices have been conducting searchers and multiple properties
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  Speaker 1: previously lived in by the ex Prince. As a statement
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  Speaker 1: from King Charles, he says he supports and will cooperate
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  Speaker 1: with the police investigation into his brother.
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  Speaker 2: Andrew Mountbatton Windsor has just been released without charge after
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  Speaker 2: spending almost twelve hours in police custody.
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  Speaker 1: Jacqueline Magnee is The Australian's Europe correspondent Jack. Australians woke
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  Speaker 1: up to a incredibly stark picture of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor
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  Speaker 1: in the backseat of a car, head resting on the headrest,
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  Speaker 1: looking absolutely startled. It's an extremely unflattering picture, but it
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  Speaker 1: shows a man in crisis, doesn't it.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it's been an extraordinary day and for Andrew Batten Windsor,
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  Speaker 2: this was his sixty sixth birthday, and it started with
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  Speaker 2: the police arriving at his new residence, wood Farm, which
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  Speaker 2: is on the Sandringham estate, which is owned by the King.
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  Speaker 2: It's a private royal residence and the King had moved
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  Speaker 2: him there after the scandals of the Epstein drama and
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  Speaker 2: Virginia Goofrey associations, and he woke up to eight police
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  Speaker 2: officers arriving in six vehicles very early in the morning
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  Speaker 2: and putting him under arrest and executing some search warrants,
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  Speaker 2: not only at wood Farm where he's staying, but he's
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  Speaker 2: former residence at the Royal Lodge outside of Windsor. So
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  Speaker 2: he was taken to a local police station and questioned
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  Speaker 2: for about twelve hours. And the photo that you're referring
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  Speaker 2: to is him trying to slink down in the backseat
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  Speaker 2: of the car to avoid just being photographed by a
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  Speaker 2: horde of waiting photographers who were just waiting for the
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  Speaker 2: car to emerge with him inside it. And he was
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  Speaker 2: captured in a very unflattering pose on what has been
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  Speaker 2: a very historic day and a very uncomfortable day for
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  Speaker 2: Andrew Mount button Windsor.
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  Speaker 1: It would have been better for him to just sit
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  Speaker 1: up straight, look stoic, adopt a bit of a stiff
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  Speaker 1: upper lip and pretend that everything was okay. But judgment
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  Speaker 1: is not Andrew's forte, is it.
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  Speaker 2: No, And you can understand that this is an highly
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  Speaker 2: embarrassing moment for him. It's an extraordinary moment, a seismic
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  Speaker 2: moment for the royal family. And maybe he's become aware
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  Speaker 2: of how significant his alleged actions may be and how
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  Speaker 2: this is being perceived around the world. Because he has
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  Speaker 2: denied any wrongdoing at all times in association with Jeffrey Epstein,
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  Speaker 2: but also in regards to the time that he was
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  Speaker 2: the Trade Envoy for the UK government and his association
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  Speaker 2: and dealings and sharing of alleged information that he received
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  Speaker 2: in that privileged government position. That is now why he's
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  Speaker 2: been put under arrest and why officials are now investigating
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  Speaker 2: him for alleged misconduct in public office.
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  Speaker 1: He was released without charge. That's pretty normal. Police tend
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  Speaker 1: to arrest someone while they need to do something else,
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  Speaker 1: either to search their properties, which seem to be what
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  Speaker 1: happened with him, or to question other people, or to
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  Speaker 1: question the person they're looking at. He may be charged
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  Speaker 1: with misconduct in public office, and if he does, that
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  Speaker 1: will be listed in the courts as Rex versus Andrew
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  Speaker 1: mount Batten Winsor. That's pretty startling, isn't it.
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  Speaker 2: Well, it means brother versus brother, because Rex refers to
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  Speaker 2: the Monarch his Majesty, King Charles. And it is an
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  Speaker 2: extraordinary situation where the King now has to really distance
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  Speaker 2: himself from a legal quandary of being perceived to either
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  Speaker 2: talk to Andrew or of either being involved with him
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  Speaker 2: financially in providing a place of residence for him and
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  Speaker 2: even providing any funds for him to live on that
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  Speaker 2: could compromise any future legal actions. So it's an unprecedented
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  Speaker 2: situation that the King finds himself in, but also Andrew
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  Speaker 2: mount Batten Windsor. And it's an extraordinary I keep using
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  Speaker 2: that word, but I can't explain how unprecedented this is
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  Speaker 2: for a royal residence to be searched by police, to
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  Speaker 2: have teams of officers come in and take away documents
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  Speaker 2: and laptops and any other electronic equipment that they can find.
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  Speaker 2: And as you mentioned, it is very normal in the
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  Speaker 2: UK for someone to be arrested. They will be questioned
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  Speaker 2: and given an opportunity where allegations are put to them,
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  Speaker 2: and it's very normal for them to be released without
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  Speaker 2: any charge. But it's also very common for the police
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  Speaker 2: to then take a week or two, maybe three weeks
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  Speaker 2: to go through the evidence that they've found, sift through
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  Speaker 2: those electronic documents, and work out their strategy, and call
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  Speaker 2: him back in for further questioning. And this could happen
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  Speaker 2: two or three times before they decide whether to lay
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  Speaker 2: charges or not.
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  Speaker 1: The whole story really makes me think jack about what
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  Speaker 1: it actually means to be Royal Andrew. I suppose you
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  Speaker 1: could argue has been protected for a lot of his
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  Speaker 1: life from the consequences of allegations against him. The Queen
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  Speaker 1: helped him come up with millions of pounds to pay
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  Speaker 1: Virginia Guphrey in an out of court settlement. Of course,
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  Speaker 1: he's always denied the allegations she made against him, that
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  Speaker 1: they had sex when she was only seventeen, and that
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  Speaker 1: she was trafficked to him by Jeffrey Epstein. But a
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  Speaker 1: bit like Prince Harry, it feels with Prince Andrew as
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  Speaker 1: though royalty and that status and that protection can just
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  Speaker 1: be snatched away from you at any moment. Is that
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  Speaker 1: a new reality for the Royals, and what's your take
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  Speaker 1: on that.
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  Speaker 2: Well, Andrew has had a very privileged upbringing, and he
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  Speaker 2: has for a very long time been very arrogant, very aloof,
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  Speaker 2: very boorish, and he demanded that people around him treat
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  Speaker 2: him in a style that he thought he should be
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  Speaker 2: addressed and treated. And so he had this very lofty
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  Speaker 2: life where people would defer to him, people would never
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  Speaker 2: challenge him, people would always agree with him, and no
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  Speaker 2: one said no, even the Queen. He was the favorite son.
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  Speaker 2: He could do whatever he liked, and so for decades
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  Speaker 2: he's been able to get away with behavior that perhaps
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  Speaker 2: normal people we would have been kind of given a
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  Speaker 2: little tap on the shoulder and told to behave well,
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  Speaker 2: that never happened with Andrew, and so he's had this
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  Speaker 2: life of pampered luxury and obsequiousness from people around him.
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  Speaker 2: And so I think it's all coming home to roosts
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  Speaker 2: now that he is accountable. And this would have come
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  Speaker 2: as a huge and rude shock to him. He would
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  Speaker 2: not have thought that the police would come knocking on
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  Speaker 2: his door, that he would then be taken to a
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  Speaker 2: police custody sell and questioned by police in a you know,
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  Speaker 2: a concrete dungeon. Really, I mean, it's incredible, and he
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  Speaker 2: would never have thought that this would have ever happened.
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  Speaker 2: And I don't think many Britons would have thought this
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  Speaker 2: would have happened either, because they had always held the
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  Speaker 2: Royal family in a certain status and reverence. And Andrew always
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  Speaker 2: seem to have that kind of protection from any scrutiny
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  Speaker 2: that other people might have had.
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  Speaker 1: Just finally, Jack, one of my guilty pleasures is reading
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  Speaker 1: your delicious analysis pieces about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
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  Speaker 1: There's so much fun because you've got a great spicy
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  Speaker 1: take and then I get you on the front and
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  Speaker 1: we have a delicious laugh about them and the pursuit
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  Speaker 1: of joy lovers and the details.
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  Speaker 2: I think it took thirty seconds of watching it and
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  Speaker 2: I just thought, oh, no.
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  Speaker 1: I have How does this recast our opinion of Meghan
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  Speaker 1: and Harry. I mean, they're not as bad as Andrew,
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  Speaker 1: are they?
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  Speaker 2: No? I don't think that they are. They haven't broken
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  Speaker 2: any laws, have they. They've been very uncomfortable for members
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  Speaker 2: of the royal family in their revelations, and they've broken
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  Speaker 2: certain levels of trust amongst the family. And I don't
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  Speaker 2: think that they would be welcomed back at all. But
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  Speaker 2: the problem with Andrew is he didn't leave the Royal family.
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  Speaker 2: He's been forced out, you know, kicking and screaming, and
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  Speaker 2: it hasn't really made these allegations go away. Several years
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  Speaker 2: now we've been looking at Andrew and it's just chip
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  Speaker 2: chip chip, chipping away at the reputation of the Royal family.
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  Speaker 2: And as much as King Charles wants to try and
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  Speaker 2: cauterize that noise and get rid of his brother and
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  Speaker 2: banish him from public life, it hasn't been enough. And
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  Speaker 2: you just have to wonder, now what would be enough.
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  Speaker 2: What can King Charles do now? He doesn't have many
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  Speaker 2: options open to him, does he He can just move
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  Speaker 2: him from the line of succession, which would require the
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  Speaker 2: UK government to approve. But he never was really going
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  Speaker 2: to be monarch anyway. He's eighth in line to the throne.
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  Speaker 2: He's already lost all his titles. So it's a real
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  Speaker 2: problem now for the Royal family. Even just being arrested,
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  Speaker 2: the reputational damage is massive and if he is charged.
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  Speaker 2: He's not charged yet, but if he is charged with
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  Speaker 2: misconduct in public office, that's enormous and you just wonder
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  Speaker 2: how much impact this will have on the royal family
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  Speaker 2: going forward.
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  Speaker 1: Jacqueline Magne is The Australian's europe correspondent.
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  Speaker 2: Jack, thanks so much, Thanks Claire.
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  Speaker 1: You can check out this story live right now at
• 11:46
  Speaker 1: the Australian dot com dot u and come back to
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• 11:51
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