It comes after Thames Valley Police said they were assessing a complaint over the alleged sharing of confidential material by the former prince with Jeffrey Epstein.
The late queen’s protection of him was a blemish on her record. I’m happy the king has cut him loose to face consequences… I wonder if they asked him before the arrest…
On June 6, ABC News’ David Muir asked Joe Biden, “Have you ruled out a pardon for your son?” Biden responded, “Yes.”
A week later, Biden reiterated to reporters during an international summit that “I will not pardon him,” nor commute his sentence, a lesser action that would have reduced Hunter Biden’s sentence but not lifted his conviction.
Not saying Charles will do an about face like Biden, nor will I say that he’s not just throwing Andrew under the bus to avoid additional fallout, but let’s see what he does if/when Andrew faces real consequences.
Yeah, sucks that Biden had to do that. But he clearly saw how trump was going to weaponise the doj. They were already reneging on the plea deal that Biden jr had made.
Where are you hearing that? The charge is misconduct in public office, and while the initial arrest for it has been made based on sharing documents, the penalty itself can have a maximum of life in prison. Life in prison won’t happen, but given they’ve now searched 4 properties, I don’t think he’s getting away with just a fine either.
Yeah. I think throwing his brother under the bus would probably earn the king a whole lot of goodwill with the public, whereas pardoning him would outrage people.
Though not much came of Jimmy Saville, but Andrew’s not dead
The convention is that the royal family don’t use these powers unilaterally. There’s an unspoken agreement here that they get to keep their palaces and fancy lifestyle on the understanding that they keep out of politics and legal issues so while Charlie could in theory do something like this, he also knows that if he did, it would pretty much signal the end of the monarchy in the UK.
The late queen’s protection of him was a blemish on her record. I’m happy the king has cut him loose to face consequences… I wonder if they asked him before the arrest…
They didn’t.
“The Press Association is reporting that neither King Charles nor Buckingham Palace was informed in advance of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.”
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/live/2026/feb/19/police-arrest-former-prince-andrew-mountbatten-windsor-sandringham-latest-updates
That’s an interesting development then. Nothing stopping the king from issuing a pardon
Charles also said something like “the law must take its course” in reaction to the news, so I think he might just let it play out
(source
Not saying Charles will do an about face like Biden, nor will I say that he’s not just throwing Andrew under the bus to avoid additional fallout, but let’s see what he does if/when Andrew faces real consequences.
Yeah, sucks that Biden had to do that. But he clearly saw how trump was going to weaponise the doj. They were already reneging on the plea deal that Biden jr had made.
The charge is sharing goverment documents. The penalty is a fine.
Where are you hearing that? The charge is misconduct in public office, and while the initial arrest for it has been made based on sharing documents, the penalty itself can have a maximum of life in prison. Life in prison won’t happen, but given they’ve now searched 4 properties, I don’t think he’s getting away with just a fine either.
I mean…
I have to assume thr relatively precarious position the royals have is stopping him
It’s the continual back and forth they’ve had for the last several centuries.
They don’t want to lose more power or come off as weak, but they also don’t want to weild too much power and be removed.
Yeah. I think throwing his brother under the bus would probably earn the king a whole lot of goodwill with the public, whereas pardoning him would outrage people.
Though not much came of Jimmy Saville, but Andrew’s not dead
Uh, yeah there is. It needs to be recommended by ministers.
He can’t do that.
No the King has that power. It is exercised today under the guidance of other officials, but the King can still use the power without reccomendation.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_prerogative_of_mercy
It is crazy how much power the UK monarchs still have. They choose not to exercise it often, but the option remains.
The convention is that the royal family don’t use these powers unilaterally. There’s an unspoken agreement here that they get to keep their palaces and fancy lifestyle on the understanding that they keep out of politics and legal issues so while Charlie could in theory do something like this, he also knows that if he did, it would pretty much signal the end of the monarchy in the UK.
Conventions. That’s what kept the US somewhat sane, until it didn’t. How is that going again?
Yes, looking at the reaction to the Epstein fallout around the world, the US is an outlier.
We remember the whole Brexit fiasco and well Boris Johnson in general.
No democracy should rely on good faith in its legal code
Almost certainly; Andrew lives on Charles’ private estate.