Police search Andrew Mountbatten's former residence in the Windsor estate

LondonThe nightmare for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, and by extension for the British royal family, is far from over. Thames Valley Police officers resumed searching one of the three properties shortly after 8:00 a.m. local time this Friday. Yesterday, at the time of the arrest of the brother of King Charles IIIThey began to rummage through the house. The task will be lengthy because the property known as Royal Lodge has 32 rooms. Many doors to open and drawers to empty. The investigation could last for months before the former prince's legal fate is decided. What is already known is that the search will continue until Monday.

The image of former Prince Andrew in the vehicle leaving the Norfolk police station, where he had spent his 66th birthday presumably silently undergoing police questioning, has gone viral and marks a turning point in the contemporary history of the monarchy. It had been 379 years, since the arrest of Charles I, that a member of the royal family had been detained. Andrew Mountbatten, according to the statement issued Thursday by Thames Valley Police, remains under investigation for suspected misconduct in public office and for the shadow of sordidness cast by his connections to the Jeffrey Epstein's pedophile plotThe clinical nature of the events does not conceal the gravity of the situation. The search, carried out under the powers of the police and criminal evidence law, allows officers to scrutinize the private life of the man who was once the UK's trade representative and who, in 1982, was received as a hero at the end of the Falklands War. Computers, mobile phones, iPads, and physical files are being analyzed by nine coordinated police forces. The former prince is currently in legal limbo. And while the presumption of innocence must be respected, this legal principle clashes head-on with the weight of the thousands of communications (more than 3,000) that have been identified so far in the Epstein case files, which have been made public. at the end of January by the United States Department of Justice.

Buckingham Palace has opted for a reactive transparency strategy. King Charles III's statement, issued four hours after police entered his brother's home, underscores, in theory, that no one is above the law. However, this stance, while necessary, appears to be the bare minimum to prevent the fire from ending like the Windsor Castle fire of 1992, considered by Queen Elizabeth II to be theannus horribilis.

At that same moment, on November 24, on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of her succession, and with a string of marital scandals and manifest unpopularity besieging the Crown, Elizabeth II made a famous speech in London In which he said: "There can be no doubt, of course, that criticism is good for the people and institutions that are part of public life. No institution—the City, the monarchy, or any other—should expect to be exempt from the scrutiny of those who give it loyalty and support, let alone those who do not."

The problem is that these words were never accompanied by the necessary actions to bring fresh air to the institution. However, Charles III has wanted to continue with his public agenda to project normality. The reality is that public support for the monarchy has plummeted to a dangerous 50%.%And the argument that Buckingham Palace knew nothing of Andreu's misdeeds, or that it acted as soon as it received the information, unravels under the weight of the evidence. For a decade, the king's brother acted as a trade envoy while questions about his friendships were already circulating.

Is the fact that he still occupies eighth place in the line of succession a sign of how the Crown still tries to protect structure over ethics? However, the explanation is relatively simple. Removing him would require an Act of Parliament, apart from the approval of all the parliaments of which he could potentially become head of state: from Australia's to Canada's and a dozen more Crown realms. And if Keir Starmer's government, also affected by the Epstein affair, is leading a project ad hocThe members of parliament could begin to ask some very uncomfortable questions: Did the Crown know anything about Andreu's business dealings? Or did what we might say actually work? Royal omertan?

The Crown and the Shadows of Silence

If the institution is to survive this relentless drip of disgrace, silence is no longer a viable option. The British monarchy faces a restructuring that should go far beyond removing military privileges or stripping Andrew Mountbatten of his title. of the title of prince by right of birth, as the king did in October

This implies full and proactive cooperation in the current investigation. And, possibly, it is not enough to simply not obstruct justice; Buckingham Palace should voluntarily open its own archives regarding Andreu's time as UK trade envoy (2001-2011) to demonstrate that there is nothing to hide. In this regard, this morning the conservative newspaper The Daily Telegraph He is already trying to save face for Charles III, whose information claims that his brother was appointed to the position against the wishes of the then future monarch. The crisis of the Crown is therefore being played out on many fronts, and many actors are involved.

Absolute financial transparency would also be advisable, to clarify where the funds came from for the multi-million-euro out-of-court settlements that Andreu reached with the Jeffrey Epstein's most prominent victim, Virginia Roberts GiuffreHe paid between 12 and 14 million pounds to someone he claimed not to know. Really?

However, it is necessary to determine the role of advisors and who facilitated, financed, and covered up the travel schedules that are now under police scrutiny. Ultimately, it is necessary to consider where the line is drawn regarding privilege and whether the monarchy will accept a public trial with all its consequences, or if there will be shadowy maneuvers to protect state secrets.

The British monarchy has survived numerous crises for centuries thanks to its ability to adapt to changing times, often sacrificing its members to save the throne. Now the exercise is the same, but perhaps this time a simple public relations exercise will not suffice.

The Duke of Edinburgh, husband of Queen Elizabeth IIHe made his fortune with one of his famous phrases: "The monarchy is a family business"A family business." The case of former Prince Andreu doesn't support that claim. To paraphrase this morning's front-page headline... The SunIt's not just Andrés who's sweating anymore; now Carlos III and his heir, Guillermo, are also sweating profusely.