Anti-monarchy campaigners staged a protest inside Buckingham Palace on Monday, unfurling banners questioning what senior royals knew about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s decades-long friendship with the late Jeffrey Epstein. The demonstration, organised by campaign group Republic, took place inside the palace’s throne room during public opening hours and comes amid ongoing police scrutiny of Andrew’s own conduct.
Activists from Republic entered the State Rooms at Buckingham Palace before unfurling a large banner in the throne room featuring an image of the former Duke of York alongside Epstein. A second, smaller banner carried the words “What did you know?” Palace security removed the protesters shortly afterwards, with no injuries or damage reported, bringing the demonstration to an end within a short period.
Republic demands answers from the palace
Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, said the group had deliberately chosen to bring its questions about Andrew directly into the royal household. “Republic activists have taken questions about Andrew to the heart of the royal household, the symbolic home of the monarchy,” Smith said. “This question isn’t going away. It is simply not believable to think that Charles and William weren’t briefed years ago about the numerous allegations against Andrew.” He went on to argue that officials would likely have flagged concerns about Andrew’s behaviour to the palace given the stakes involved: “Security services, police and government would have had concerns about Andrew’s behaviour, and would have briefed the palace. Not least because of the potential threat to national security and the risk of blackmail.”
Republic said the protest was designed to increase pressure for greater transparency over exactly what senior members of the Royal Family knew about Andrew’s relationship with Epstein. Buckingham Palace has not publicly responded to the specific claims made by the protesters. The demonstration is the latest in a series of high-profile anti-monarchy actions staged by Republic in recent years, including protests at royal events and outside royal residences, as part of the group’s wider campaign for the monarchy’s abolition.
A friendship that outlasted Epstein’s conviction
Andrew, who was stripped of his titles in October by his brother, King Charles, was friends with Epstein for decades before the financier’s death in 2019. He hosted Epstein at royal residences during the American’s visits to the UK, and continued to socialise with him even after Epstein was convicted of child sex crimes in 2008.
Ongoing police investigation
The palace protest comes against the backdrop of a live police investigation into Andrew’s own conduct. He was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with his ties to Epstein, and was interviewed under caution before being released under investigation. In May, it emerged that detectives would also examine allegations of sexual misconduct against him as part of that same inquiry.
Andrew has separately faced accusations that he had sex with the late Virginia Giuffre on three occasions, including once when she was 17 — below Florida’s age of consent — and again during what she described as an orgy after being trafficked by Epstein. Andrew has consistently denied all allegations of criminal wrongdoing. He has previously said he does not regret ending his friendship with Epstein when he did, while acknowledging it was a mistake to have maintained contact with him after his 2008 conviction.
