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LONDON<\/strong> \u2013 In an earlier era, Britain\u2019s royal family might have tried to bury the scandal surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s<\/a> friendship with Jeffrey Epstein. Not during the reign of King Charles III<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since October, the king has stripped his younger brother<\/a> of the right to be called prince, forced him to move out of the royal estate he occupied for more than 20 years and issued a public statement supporting the women and girls abused by Epstein.<\/p>\n Then came Monday\u2019s unprecedented announcement<\/a> that Buckingham Palace was ready to cooperate in the event of a police inquiry into Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s links to Epstein.<\/p>\n Charles was forced to act<\/a> after the U.S. Justice Department released millions of pages of Epstein documents that revealed the details of his relationship with Mountbatten-Windsor and torpedoed the former prince\u2019s claims that he severed ties with the financier after his 2008 conviction for soliciting a minor for prostitution.<\/p>\n Break with the past<\/p>\n Fifty or 100 years ago, \u201cyou can imagine the gentlemen\u2019s agreements” that would have sought to “bury this kind of story,\u201d said Ed Owens, author of \u201cAfter Elizabeth: Can the Monarchy Save Itself?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut, thankfully, we live in a more democratic age where people are rightly held accountable for their actions. In taking the moral high ground \u2014 and that is what the king is doing here \u2014 the monarchy is signaling very clearly that it recognizes that public opinion demands that justice be served and that it is willing to comply with the police inquiry.\u201d<\/p>\n The King’s latest step was triggered by allegations that Mountbatten-Windsor sent Epstein confidential reports from a 2010 tour of Southeast Asia, which he undertook as Britain\u2019s envoy for international trade. The correspondence was uncovered by reporters combing through the Justice Department files.<\/p>\n Police assess allegations<\/p>\n The Thames Valley Police, an agency that covers areas west of London, including Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s former home, said Monday that it was \u201cassessing\u201d the reports. The police statement quickly brought a response from the palace.<\/p>\n \u201cThe King has made clear, in words and through unprecedented actions, his profound concern at allegations which continue to come to light in respect of Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s conduct,” the palace said in a statement. \u201cWhile the specific claims in question are for Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor to address, if we are approached by Thames Valley Police we stand ready to support them as you would expect.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing<\/a> in his relationship with Epstein.<\/p>\n The palace\u2019s announcement was splashed across British newspapers on Tuesday, with the The Sun tabloid filling its front page with the headline \u201cKing: We\u2019ll Help Cops on Andy.\u201d<\/p>\n Efforts to contain scandal <\/p>\n The palace\u2019s commitment to cooperate with police is just the latest in a series of actions designed to isolate Mountbatten-Windsor and shield the rest of the royal family<\/a> from the scandal, said Craig Prescott, an expert on constitutional law and the monarchy at Royal Holloway, University of London.<\/p>\n While the revelations about Mountbatten-Windsor have tarnished the family\u2019s reputation, support for the monarchy remains firm, Prescott said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs long as it\u2019s contained to Prince Andrew, then I think the monarchy\u2019s relatively safe,\u201d he said of the scandal.<\/p>\n Britain\u2019s royal family has struggled to respond to Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s behavior since 2010, when Virginia Giuffre alleged that Epstein had flown her to Britain to have sex with the man who was then a prince of the realm. Giuffre, who was just 17 at the time, died by suicide<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n But under the late Queen Elizabeth II, who sought to preserve the royal mystique with the philosophy of \u201cnever complain, never explain,\u201d the palace was largely silent.<\/p>\n