Neither the shock nor the historical significance of the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was lost on the European press. And if there was one thing that correspondents and leader writers around the continent could agree on, it was that the former prince’s detention had plunged the British monarchy into a place of unprecedented danger and vulnerability.
“Despite all the scandals that have shaken the British royal family over the decades, it’s no exaggeration to say that the arrest of King Charles III’s brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor represents a momentous watershed for the Windsor monarchy,” El País said in a leader on Friday.
The paper said the king’s response to the scandals surrounding his brother – which included stripping him of his titles – had so far proved insufficient in the face of what was shaping up to be an existential test of the monarchy’s resilience.
“A new generation of Britons is demanding that the royals face justice like all other citizens,” it said. “The heir to the throne, Prince William, has understood even more than his father that this was a defining moment for the monarchy, and has demanded a strong response to the alleged misdeeds of his uncle Andrew. The king’s statement, in which he clearly distances himself from his brother, calls for the law to take its course, and offers the police his full support and cooperation, suggests Buckingham Palace understands it faces a crucial test in which it must demonstrate its relevance and adaptability to the 21st century.”
El Mundo said the arrest of Mountbatten-Windsor – who has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein – had dealt the British monarchy a “historic blow”, adding: “The task now facing his 77-year-old brother is that of rebuilding confidence in an institution without which it is impossible to understand the United Kingdom.”
The German tabloid Bild noted that Mountbatten-Windsor had become “an outcast” and said “the monarchy may not survive this”, while the Süddeutsche Zeitung called it “an arrest for the history books”.
Others focused on the dynamics within the royal family. A cartoon in Belgium’s Le Soir showed the late Queen Elizabeth II looking down from heaven at a man being led past Big Ben by two police officers.
Le Figaro’s London correspondent, Arnaud de la Grange, said at least the late monarch had not had to endure Thursday’s events. “Many Britons believe it was better that Queen Elizabeth II hadn’t witnessed this in her lifetime,” he wrote. “Her ‘favourite son’, the king’s brother, taken away by the police like a common criminal. For someone so concerned with the image of the crown, the shock would have been immense.”
Corriere della Sera’s London correspondent, Luigi Ippolito, was rather more blunt in his appraisal of the damage Mountbatten-Windsor had caused to the Windsor dynasty.
“All families with a black sheep are alike, but a royal family with a black sheep has its own set of problems,” he wrote. “And the former Prince Andrew, now simply Mr Mountbatten-Windsor – and for a few moments a common prisoner – did everything he could to fulfil that role and drag his august relatives into disrepute. Pampered, coddled, and cajoled throughout his life, he ultimately revealed himself as the worm that threatens to bring down the entire edifice of the monarchy. And to think he was Elizabeth’s favourite.”
The Irish Times said the arrest of Mountbatten-Windsor was a reminder of how important it was to carry out a thorough investigation of the contents of the Jeffrey Epstein files. “The long reach of the files is increasingly evident in damaged reputations, resignations and questioning of links with Epstein revealed in extensive emails published in the latest batch of documents,” the paper said in a leader.
“What police actions will follow will take time to emerge, of course. But it is vital for victims and their families that there is legal accountability where criminal acts were committed … The way forward, as the British king himself put it on Thursday, is that ‘the law must take its course’.”
Poland’s Gazeta Wyborcza said the Mountbatten-Windsor case highlighted the differences in how those implicated in the Epstein files were being held to account for their actions in the UK and the US.
“The contrast between the old world and the new is striking,” the paper said, as the UK arrest – without even formally naming the suspect – showed “independent law enforcement doing its job” despite proximity to the head of state.
In the US, no arrests had been made, and senior members of the administration seemed to actively downplay the importance of the files, it said. “On the other side of the Atlantic, the villains of the Epstein saga are still using honorifics such as professor, former president, or director. But over here, the duke of York and eighth successor to the throne has become, simply, citizen Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
“Who would have thought that [the treatment of] a wealthy, decadent playboy - the kind of aristocrat usually vilified in revolutionary flyers — would turn out to be the best advertisement for liberal democracy?”
