What's going on: The shocking arrest of a member of the British royal family continues to reverberate around the world — testing accountability and the monarchy itself. On the morning of his 66th birthday, British police arrested former Prince Andrew on suspicion of misconduct in public office. His arrest appears to be tied to new claims that he shared confidential information with the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein as British trade envoy. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — who’s consistently denied wrongdoing — remains under investigation and has since been released from police custody, as seen in this startling photo after his arrest. The family of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who accused Mountbatten-Windsor of sexual assault (they settled out of court), hailed the reports. “Our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty,” they wrote.
What it means: This is an unprecedented move by UK authorities — after all, the last time a British royal was arrested was 379 years ago (we did the math). King Charles III seems in favor of the investigation, issuing a rare statement and saying, “the law must take its course.” Prince William and Princess Kate also weighed in. The arrest has put a spotlight on how differently law enforcement has approached the Epstein case across the pond, as many question the lack of accountability in the US. So far, the House Oversight Committee has deposed Les Wexner, and Bill Gates backed out of a keynote address (and dismissed the rumors about his absence). Two dozen others have faced some kind of consequence, though police have yet to make a single new arrest.
