First of all, Prince William and his wife Catherine responded to the ongoing saga of his Uncle Andrew’s tawdry dealings with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein by issuing a vague statement via their office to say they were “deeply concerned” and that “their thoughts remain focused on the ­victims”.

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Monarchy may never recover from greedy Andrew’s shameful past – but there’s one thing that could save them all Credit: Getty

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A spokesman for the King himself expressed ‘profound concern’ at the allegations surrounding his brother’s conduct Credit: Getty
It was swiftly followed by a spokesman for the King himself expressing “profound concern” at the allegationssurrounding his brother’s conduct and making it clear that, if approached by Thames Valley Police, the Palace stands ready to support them.
But will these faintly corporate, tick-box utterances be enough to sweep this scandal under an antique rug in the Palace attic and place the ­monarchy back on a “business as usual” footing?
One doubts it. For the anti- monarchy group Republic has got its teeth firmly wedged on the royal leg and won’t let go easily.
It alerted the police to the suggestion that, when he was a government trade envoy in 2010, Andrew may have leaked confidential information to Epstein regarding his official visits to countries in South East Asia.
And it’s suspected that some of their supporters may be behind the recent heckling of the King on walkabouts, demanding to know what he knew about his brother and when.
Andrew continues to insist that he’s done nothing wrong, but the optics still stink.
It’s unthinkable that, while former US ambassador Peter Mandelson’s two houses have been searched by police regarding the potential leaking of sensitive information, Andrew might be allowed to skulk off to a dark corner of the UK without his collar being felt.
So, at the very least, his house (or storage unit near Woking . . . wherever his personal possessions currently are) should be subjected to the same police scrutiny as Chez Mandelson and he should agree to give evidence to the American Congress on what he knows from his time in Epstein’s inner circle.

Stubborn silence

If he doesn’t, then the monarchy might never recover from the shame of his stubborn silence.
The financial greed of Andrew and his estranged wife Sarah Ferguson propelled them to ingratiate themselves with a man prepared to pay off their debts without ever stopping to wonder what the payback might be.

They are the central protagonists responsible for dragging the monarchy in to this mess, but significant others played supporting roles by seemingly turning a blind eye to their shenanigans.
Author Andrew Lownie, who wrote the excellent book Entitled about the Yorks, said last week: “Arrogant, sex-obsessed and incurious, Andrew must have seemed an easy target.”
He believes that, aside from Epstein’s suspected links to Russia, “a number of Chinese agents have inveigled themselves into the groups of friends and advisers” of the former prince.
Given the aforementioned arrogance and lack of curiosity, it’s highly likely that Andrew was egotistical enough to believe that all these fawning “friends” were interested in him solely for his sparkling wit and personality.
But some of the blame for his gigantic ego must lay at the door of the institution he grew up in.
From the mother who doted on her favourite son and indulged him far too much (particularly with that multi-million-pound cheque to pay off Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre), to the Palace climate of “Andrew can do what he wants”.

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Andrew continues to insist that he’s done nothing wrong, but the optics still stink Credit: AFP

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The financial greed of Andrew propelled them to ingratiate themselves with a man prepared to pay off their debts without ever stopping to wonder what the payback might be Credit: AFP

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Prince William and Princess Kate responded to the ongoing saga of his Uncle Andrew’s tawdry dealings by saying ‘their thoughts remain focused on the victims’ Credit: PA
Stories abound of his towering temper and rudeness to staff, so if any of them felt misgivings about the visits of Epstein and various “models” to the Palace, it was hardly an environment that encouraged them to speak up.
Similarly, his police bodyguards and the intelligence service must have known his every move, so why didn’t they express concerns about the company he was keeping?
Or perhaps they did and it was brushed under that aforementioned attic rug?
Dr Mannie Sher, from the Tavistock Institute of Human Relations, wrote last week that the tendency of powernetworks “to treat Epstein as a depraved outlier is understandable, but politically evasive”.

‘Institutional blindness’

He added: “The familiar post-hoc insistence that ‘no one knew’ is less an explanation than a defence . . . Abuses on this scale require not only a perpetrator, but sustained institutional blindness.”
Indeed. So if the monarchy is to emerge from this sorry mess without lasting damage, then it needs to avoid accusations of an institutional cover-up by answering all these important questions.
And afterwards? The King has already stripped Andrew of his titles, forced him out of Windsor’s Royal Lodge, and plans to relocate him to a farmhouse on the Sandringham estate.
But today, a deserted island off the coast of Wales came on the ­market for “less than the price of a semi-detached” house.
Better still, it includes a farmhouse and was once owned by Queen Anne, so has royal connections.
A home fit for a former prince, ­perhaps?