Fresh questions are being raised over whether King Charles III was truly unaware of Prince Andrew’s links to Jeffrey Epstein, after a royal biographer suggested the issue reached far beyond palace corridors.
The claims come from Andrew Lownie, author of The Rise and Fall of the House of York and often described as Andrew’s unofficial biographer. Speaking on TalkTV with Jeremy Kyle, Lownie said the Duke’s situation was serious enough to involve state institutions, including the Foreign Office and MI6.
Lownie said he welcomed the recent statements from the King and the Prince and Princess of Wales acknowledging concern for the victims, but suggested they risk acting as a distraction. In his view, the bigger issue is transparency. He argues the public deserves clear answers about what the palace knew, when it knew it, and how Andrew was protected for so long.
According to Lownie, there is still no full account of key events, including Andrew’s departure from Royal Lodge. He believes the palace failed to tackle the problem early enough and is still not being fully open about its handling of the situation.
While the official line has been that senior royals did not know the full extent of the issue, Lownie strongly disputes this. He claims the palace was briefed repeatedly by senior figures, including those at the Foreign Office and MI6, and that information was flowing in on a regular basis.
He did add one clarification. The King, he said, may not have been briefed as an individual in the way some imagine, but rather as part of the institution. Based on his research, Lownie said protection officers reported up through royal security, with information ultimately reaching the sovereign. From that perspective, he argues, it is hard to believe the palace was in the dark.
Lownie also suggested that mounting public anger has forced the palace into action, creating pressure to respond quickly. Even so, he warned that expressions of sympathy alone may no longer satisfy public opinion, with many now demanding fuller disclosure of what really went on behind the scenes.
