Photo: Aaron Chown – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images
On Thursday, ex-royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The charge came just weeks after officials said they were investigating a claim that the former prince allegedly shared official documents with Jeffrey Epstein while serving as a U.K. trade envoy. Obviously, this is a PR nightmare for the royal family, who have been distancing themselves from Andrew ever since his connections to Epstein became international news in 2019. However, instead of retreating into the bowels of Clarence House for the foreseeable future, King Charles and Queen Camilla are instead proceeding with business as usual.
According to the BBC, Charles was not informed ahead of time that Andrew was going to be arrested. He did release a statement following the news of his brother’s arrest, saying that the authorities “have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation” and that “the law must take its course.” And then, hours after Andrew was taken into custody, both Charles and Camilla were out and about attending to their scheduled royal duties.
The king held audiences at St. James’s Palace, where he met with ambassadors from Spain, El Salvador, and Kenya, per People. Around the same time, Camilla attended a lunchtime concert at Sinfonia Smith Square Hall in London, where she has been the royal patron for 23 years. According to People, as the queen was walking to her car following the event, she was asked, “Are you concerned about Andrew’s arrest, Your Majesty?” Camilla reportedly waved but did not answer the question.
Later in the day, Charles made an appearance at the opening of London Fashion Week. The Times reported that the king was met with “cheers and shouts” from the public upon his arrival, while The Sun characterized the sounds as “groans” from onlookers. Like Camilla, Charles did not respond to questions about his brother’s arrest. The king took in a couple of exhibitions before sitting front row at Tolu Coker’s runway show. Per The Times, Charles was applauded as he left the event.
The message from Charles and Camilla seems pretty clear: They are staying the heck out of this. Before his arrest, Andrew had already been stripped of his titles and excluded from the family’s Christmas celebration; just a few weeks ago, he moved out of his royal residence. Now it seems like Charles and Camilla might as well be saying, “What? Did something happen?” Keep calm and carry on, indeed.