The brother of the King of Britain puts the “Royal Family” in the most difficult crisis since 1936

The brother of the King of Britain, Charles III, was arrested. Police search two royal facilities, and news commentators discuss details of a sex scandal that has reached the gates of Buckingham Palace.

But how did the British royal family spend last Thursday evening? The King sat in the front rows of the first day of London Fashion Week, Queen Camilla attended a concert, and Princess Anne visited a prison.

The decision to continue performing royal duties normally is more than just an example of British sobriety in the face of the biggest crisis facing the monarchy in nearly a century.

This decision is the first chapter in Windsor Castle’s battle for survival, as the arrest of the former Prince Andrew threatens to undermine popular support for the monarchy.

After pledging to support police investigations into his brother’s friendship with the late businessman and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, the king confirmed his intentions.

The king said in a statement: “My family and I will continue to perform our duties and serve you all.”

This is the biggest crisis facing the monarchy since the abdication of the throne in 1936.

The mere fact that Charles made this statement shows the extent of the problem resulting from the arrest of his brother (66 years old), who is now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. He was detained for 11 hours and released under investigation, which means that he was not charged or acquitted. This incident is considered unprecedented, to the point that it prompted commentators to return to the arrest and execution of King Charles I during the English Civil War, to find a similar incident.

The arrest of Mountbatten-Windsor, on suspicion of abusing his position, is the biggest crisis facing the monarchy since Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry American divorcee, Alice Simpson.

The scandal weakened popular support for the monarchy, which did not fully recover for 15 years. The transformation occurred only after King George VI, Edward’s successor, refused to flee Britain during World War II, expressing his solidarity with the country that was bombarded by Nazi bombs.

Even before assuming the throne, Queen Elizabeth II followed in her father’s footsteps, publicly pledging to dedicate her life to serving Britain. But although the impact of Edward’s abdication lasted for years, the crisis reached its peak within a few days. The solution to this crisis was very simple: Edward stepped aside, and his older brother took office. Conversely, the drama surrounding Mountbatten-Windsor appears to be ongoing, with no end in sight.

It is noteworthy that the current crisis resulted from the revelation of a relationship between the former prince and Epstein, after the US Department of Justice published millions of documents last month related to investigations into Epstein.

Police previously cited reports that Mountbatten-Windsor was sending business information to Epstein during 2010, when the former prince was Britain’s special envoy for international trade.

It is noteworthy that the last time the royal family had to deal with this kind of difficult questions was after the death of Princess Diana, the former wife of Charles. At that time, Queen Elizabeth and Charles were criticized for their failure to deal with the overwhelming grief that swept the people, as tens of thousands of people flocked to Kensington Gardens to place flowers outside the late princess’s home. Some even called on Charles to step down from his position as heir to the throne in favor of his son, William.