King Charles just wants to get back to royal business, making appearances and shaking hands with the public, but Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s scandal isn’t going to allow him to do that.
While King Charles and Queen Camilla attended an Easter service event at St. Asaph Cathedral in North Wales on April 2, he was unwelcomely greeted by graffiti and protesters. According to the Mirror, workers had to clean off certain exterior walls of the church that were tagged with the message, “Not our King.” The crowds were also noticeably thin while the antimonarchist group, Republic, made its presence known.
The group has been a thorn in the monarch’s side since his coronation in May 2023 — and less than three years later, they are still there. As his motorcade drove by, their bright yellow and black signs proclaimed, “What did you know about Andrew?” “Charles, what are you hiding?” and “Abolish the monarchy.” The group’s leader, Graham Smith, also posted an image on X showing a light crowd and the sarcastic message, “Almost 10 people waiting for Charles.”
In March 2023, royal author Omid Scobie warned the royal family that there was a “growing apathy” about the existence of a monarchy in the U.K. Smith explained to Scobie in a Yahoo U.K. interview that he was at the forefront of the “#NoMoreRoyals” movement.
“We can keep raising awareness of the problems and scandals of the monarchy, getting people to understand why it’s worth caring about getting rid of it. That includes connecting the institution to issues of identity, social justice, and democratic reform,” Smith explained.
While there were plenty of problems with the royal family at the time, ex-Prince Andrew‘s involvement in the Jeffrey Epstein scandal only gave Republic more ammunition to protest the palace. In the wake of Andrew’s arrest in February, Smith called for a “reckoning” because he found the royal family’s reaction to the crisis “deafening.”
“Republic has called for an inquiry that throws a spotlight on the royal household, its secrecy, spending, influence, and any allegations and accusations that have arisen in the past two decades,” the February 23 statement reads. “This scandal is not just about Andrew; it is about a culture that has allowed the royals to do as they please, knowing there was little chance of repercussions. For that impunity victims of Epstein have likely paid a high price.”
For Charles, his soft handling of his younger brother is going to be a big part of his legacy. Even with Prince William pushing him to punish Andrew, it’s the king’s lack of action that people will remember in the Epstein case — and it’s going to be hard to rewrite the narrative at this point.
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‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.sheknows.com ’
