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Richard Fitzwilliams: Royal Commentator on the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor · Early Edition with Ryan Bridge

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: So the King's brother has been arrested overnight Andrew former
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: prince of course alleged misconduct and public office. No charges
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: have been laid yet as far as we know, just
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: arrested in for questioning at the police station as we speak.
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: We spoke to Vincent mcavney, are UK correspondent earlier.
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  Speaker 2: You know, he is potentially a flight risk.
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  Speaker 1: We saw that with the former King of Spain who
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  Speaker 1: disappeared to the Middle East when he was facing serious,
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: you know, accusations. Richard Fitzwilliams, a royal commentator, joins us
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: now from the UK. Richard, good morning, good evening to you.
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  Speaker 2: Good morning.
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  Speaker 1: So a shock or did we seek kindness expect that
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  Speaker 1: something like this would happen and how does its play
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  Speaker 1: out for the royal family?
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  Speaker 2: How? Indeed a very very pertinent question. I mean I
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  Speaker 2: think that with for example, the Daily Mail pressure on
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  Speaker 2: Andrew is nine police forces, probe files, the whole variety
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: of allegations. I mean, what they've charged him with was
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  Speaker 2: miss Combert in public office, which meant giving confidential material
• 1:04
  Speaker 2: or when he was special trade endpoy to Epstein or
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  Speaker 2: similar sources. So there's no doubt at all that this
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  Speaker 2: is completely unprecedented. What is of course so shocking is
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  Speaker 2: the behavior of Andrew mount Battenbins and his former wife
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  Speaker 2: Sarah Ferguson. I mean this over a long period of years.
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  Speaker 2: But when it comes to criminality, that is what we're
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  Speaker 2: focusing on. What we've got clearly is the charges linked
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: to the sharing of confidential information which most emphactically should
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  Speaker 2: not have occurred. But also, of course, as you well know,
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  Speaker 2: there are the charges linked to his disastrous friendship with
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  Speaker 2: the deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, and of course a photograph
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  Speaker 2: of him with Virginia Robins Geoffrey, which we now know
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  Speaker 2: is a genuine one. She tragically committed suicide last year,
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  Speaker 2: a case settled for twelve million pounds which she brought
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: against him in my twenty twenty two facts are that
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  Speaker 2: with this area trafficking allegations and so forth, because Epstein
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  Speaker 2: is supposed to have possibly brought women into Britain, this
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  Speaker 2: is also something that may rear its head. With the
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  Speaker 2: Epstein files having brought to light so much, what more
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  Speaker 2: will in fact come. I mean, this is one of
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  Speaker 2: the reasons it places the palace, which have been very
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  Speaker 2: much on the back foot dealing with this in a
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  Speaker 2: possible position.
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: Absolutely, and this statement from the King that the law
• 2:36
  Speaker 1: must take its course. Do you think he's done enough
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  Speaker 1: to kind of insulate himself from Andrew.
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  Speaker 2: I don't think it's possible to say, because we don't
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  Speaker 2: know what is going to come up more in the
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: in the files. I also think that it's very, very
• 2:52
  Speaker 2: difficult in the coming weeks and months to keep calm
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  Speaker 2: and carry on, which is essentially the royal family's job
• 2:59
  Speaker 2: as a symbol of national unity, projection of soft power.
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: They're chalitable work and sand which is invaluable. It's an
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  Speaker 2: institution with over a thousand years. But I mean, to
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  Speaker 2: find a president for this you have to go back
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: to the sixteenth century where Mary, Queen of Scott's, arrested
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  Speaker 2: Princess Elizabeth most memorably. I mean, it really is an
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  Speaker 2: extraordinarily difficult time for the royals. But I mean we
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  Speaker 2: was also think of the victims of Epstein and how,
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  Speaker 2: for example, some of them may bring cases. It's possible anything,
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  Speaker 2: quite frankly, is possible because there's this global network of
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  Speaker 2: millionaires and billionaires who thought that they were above the law,
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  Speaker 2: and it would see Andrew man Batten Windsor is in
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  Speaker 2: for a very very tough ride, but so is the
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  Speaker 2: royal family and this is going to play out all
• 3:52
  Speaker 2: in the public.
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  Speaker 1: Gays, Richard Fitzwilliams, appreciate your update this morning. For more
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: from Early Edition with Ryan Bridge, listen live to News
• 4:00
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• 4:03
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