{"id":2293824,"date":"2026-02-22T13:15:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T13:15:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2293824"},"modified":"2026-02-22T13:15:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T13:15:50","slug":"now-donald-trump-and-the-royal-family-know-the-rule-of-law-is-no-empty-phrase","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/now-donald-trump-and-the-royal-family-know-the-rule-of-law-is-no-empty-phrase\/","title":{"rendered":"Now Donald Trump and the royal family know \u2018the rule of law\u2019 is no empty phrase"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div id=\"main\">\n<div class=\"hydrate-root sc-10wlkbs-0\" data-component=\"Newsletter\" data-loading=\"lazy\" data-theme-name=\"base\">\n<aside class=\"sc-y4bm30-0 jwWhkK newsletter-component sc-1ge0fwe-0\" data-newsletter-key=\"receiveOpinionWeekly\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-1 inRDZn\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-3\">\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-4 hfveGa\">\n<p><h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-6 fvoxRM fafQAy\">Sign up for our free Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-8 fvoxRM fvWmZq\">Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns<\/h3>\n<h3 class=\"sc-y4bm30-5 sc-y4bm30-7 fvoxRM hkVmms\">Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<p><svg class=\"sc-eaj12q-0 hKcUSR sc-culv3z-0 eifaJK sc-1ix0cah-0 PYnPb sc-y4bm30-10 fUEDPX\"><use href=\"#600f53465147d717\"\/><\/svg><\/div>\n<div class=\"sc-y4bm30-2 kcLSBk sc-y4bm30-9 iQYNfz\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.independent.co.uk\/static-assets\/images\/newsletters\/voices1_1.png\" loading=\"lazy\" alt=\"Independent Voices\" class=\"sc-1mc30lb-0 ggpMaE\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"big-letter\">T<\/span>he shock of seeing a member of the royal family, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/crime\/andrew-mountbatten-windsor-arrested-misconduct-epstein-charles-latest-b2924086.html\">Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor<\/a>, in the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/bulletin\/news\/andrew-mountbatten-windsor-arrest-police-station-b2923907.html\">back of a car after he was released from police custody<\/a> will reverberate in British history for generations to come. The photograph by Phil Noble of Reuters that featured on our front page this week will send a powerful and welcome message, one that has been reinforced in a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/home-news\/prince-andrew-arrest-king-charles-statement-b2923594.html\">statement by the King: \u201cThe law must take its course.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<p>There will be those who question that course. Some will argue that the allegations of the sexual abuse of women and girls facilitated by <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/voices\/epstein-files-andrew-peter-mandelson-america-elite-unscathed-b2924244.html\">Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>, the American financier and convicted sex offender, are more serious than the vague charge of misconduct in public office in relation to the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/politics\/andrew-peter-mandelson-trade-envoy-epstein-b2924893.html\">former Prince Andrew\u2019s trade envoy role<\/a> that prompted the police to act.<\/p>\n<p>Others will say, and indeed have said, that the use of the power of arrest was not necessary in this case, as Mr Mountbatten-Windsor would not have refused to attend an interview voluntarily.<\/p>\n<p>These, however, are second-order issues that can be addressed in due course. What is of paramount importance is the principle that no one in Britain is above the law. The last vestige of royal prerogative was swept away when <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/royal-fortune-stays-secret-the-queen-has-been-forced-into-paying-taxes-and-the-last-thing-she-wants-to-do-is-to-give-the-impression-to-the-people-that-there-is-a-tax-regime-for-her-and-another-one-for-the-ordinary-punter-1472403.html\">Queen Elizabeth II started to pay income tax in 1993<\/a>, and Britain accepted that the rule of law applies to everyone in the country, irrespective of their social or economic status.<\/p>\n<p>The same principle applies, thank goodness, in the United States \u2013 the nation to which we are most prone to compare ourselves. This week\u2019s ruling by the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/supreme-court-tariff-decision-trump-b2897195.html\">Supreme Court, overturning President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs<\/a>, was a vindication of that principle \u2013 strengthened rather than diminished by Mr <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-live-updates-b2924486.html\">Trump\u2019s graceless tirade against the six justices<\/a> in the majority, calling them \u201ca disgrace to the nation\u201d, \u201cfools\u201d and \u201clapdogs\u201d for the \u201cradical left Democrats\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Against the ravings of a bad loser, it is worth quoting the noble sentiments expressed by Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-live-updates-b2924486.html\">nominated to the court by Mr Trump<\/a>. His concurrence appeared almost personally addressed to the president: \u201cYes, legislating can be hard and take time. And, yes, it can be tempting to bypass Congress when some pressing problem arises. But the deliberative nature of the legislative process was the whole point of its design. Through that process, the nation can tap the combined wisdom of the people\u2019s elected representatives, not just that of one faction or one man.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Justice Gorsuch concluded: \u201cIf history is any guide, the tables will turn and the day will come when those disappointed by today\u2019s result will appreciate the legislative process for the bulwark of liberty it is.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Mr Trump has, naturally, cocked a snook at the court by announcing a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/business\/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-b2924843.html\">new 15 per cent tariff<\/a> on all imports \u2013 a measure that will probably be struck down and more quickly than this week\u2019s ruling. <\/p>\n<p>The US also faces a more serious \u201crule of law\u201d problem than Mr Trump\u2019s unconstitutional attempts to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/business\/trump-tariffs-supreme-court-b2924843.html\">levy tariffs without the consent of Congress<\/a>. Agents of ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) appear to have been <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/ice-agents-minneapolis-minnesota-shooting-dhs-b2911958.html\">deployed by the president in something resembling a reign of terror<\/a>, and the arc of justice is taking its time to bend towards ending it.<\/p>\n<p>Yet this week\u2019s Supreme Court ruling offers hope that the rule of law will eventually prevail on both fronts. It should also remind us in Britain how priceless our reputation for fair dealing truly is.<\/p>\n<p>On <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/business\/aviva-arena-bristol-ytl-live-brabazon-concorde-b2924216.html\">Friday we reported<\/a> that YTL, the Malaysian-based multinational company, will invest \u00a34bn in Britain, including in the Aviva Arena, a new events venue in Bristol. \u201cWe love the UK and are pleased to be its largest Malaysian investor,\u201d Francis Yeoh, its executive chair, said. He has previously praised Britain as a place \u201cwhere the rule of law is the order of the day\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The rule of law is no abstract principle. It is the guarantee of the rights of every member of society and the foundation of our prosperity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.independent.co.uk \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sign up for our free Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up for our free weekly Voices newsletter for expert opinion and columns Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter The shock of seeing a member of the royal family, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, in the back of a car after he was released [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2102517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2293824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-royalty"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/The-loss-of-Prince-Andrews-titles-is-a-turning-point.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2293824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2293824"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2293824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2293825,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2293824\/revisions\/2293825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2102517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2293824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2293824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2293824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}