The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor last week, after allegations he had shared confidential information with the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, sent shock waves around the world.
What happens next is unclear, but the ramifications will go far beyond the former prince, who has consistently denied any wrongdoing related to Epstein. It was one of the most consequential days for Britain’s monarchy in generations, shattering the traditional aura of royal mystique and raising questions of accountability, deference and whether the royal family should have acted sooner.
In a powerful essay for our big story this week, Stephen Bates asks whether the royal family can survive the unfolding scandal.
You will by now probably have seen the image of Mountbatten-Windsor, slumped in the back of a car outside a Norfolk police station, in vivid contrast to the square-jawed visage of his younger years. The academic Fay Bound-Alberti writes on how Andrew’s appearance has morphed from a branded icon of nobility to a “trapped” image of shame and ruin.
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Five essential reads in this week’s edition
Spotlight | The limits to the supreme court’s assent
Last week’s declaration by the conservative-heavy court that Trump’s sweeping tariffs are unlawful is a major setback for the president, writes Ed Pilkington
Health | Why big pharma stands to gain from weight-loss pills
Oral tablets could bring obesity treatment into the mainstream, with the sector predicted to be worth $200bn by the end of the decade. Julia Kollewe reports
Special report | The road to war in Ukraine
In a remarkably detailed piece drawing on more than 100 interviews with senior intelligence officials and other insiders, Shaun Walker explains how the CIA and MI6 got hold of Putin’s Ukraine plans – and why nobody believed them
Opinion | A degree? A trade? Every rung for young people is a trap
Is it to be a degree and heavy debt when graduate jobs are shrinking? Or forgoing a degree, knowing society still worships them? Confused, angry: who wouldn’t be, asks Jason Okundaye
Culture | Big in Beijing (but less so in Blackpool)
James Balmont’s band, Swim Deep, plays to crowds of hundreds across the UK – but in China, they perform in front of tens of thousands. And they’re not the only ones
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What else we’ve been reading
• Simon Hattenstone’s interview with the British Labour MP Naz Shah gives a staggering and deeply personal account of her traumatic early life, which culminated in her mother’s conviction for murder.It’s a story of overcoming profound adversity that is well worth a read. Emily Elnusairi, deputy production editor
• Robert Aramayo’s Bafta award for best actor, for his role as a man with Tourette syndrome in I Swear, surprised many. This affectionate piece charts how hard work has defined his journey from sixth-form college in Hull to the top of his trade, and highlights why arts funding matters so much in “left behind” places. Graham Snowdon, editor
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Other highlights from the Guardian website
• Audio | The truth about fat, and its complex role in our health
• Video | Meet the Australian farmer planning to get the US hooked on camel milk
• Gallery | ‘Beauty in the everyday’: a butterfly’s-eye view of the world
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