After a week of unforgivable silence from Charles since new allegations emerged about his brother, campaigners visited Sandringham Estate today to deliver in person the Epstein court documents he has so clearly ignored.
A recent poll showed half the public want Charles to speak up and address these serious allegations against his brother.
The team from Republic arrived at the gates of the estate at around 4pm, to ask Charles why he is in hiding, rather than answering questions about the Prince Andrew scandal.
While at the Sandringham gates, Republic's Graham Smith read out the key passage from the Epstein files, in which Andrew is accused of a number of offences, including the sexual abuse of underage girls at an orgy at Epstein's island home.
The letter, from Republic's CEO and addressed to the king, said:
"It is with increasing concern that, as head of state, you have so far failed to comment publicly on the litany of very serious allegations made against your brother, Prince Andrew."
"The British public are clearly concerned about these accusations, with 3 in 4 believing the Metropolitan Police should investigate them thoroughly. Half the population believe you should personally make a statement to address these allegations. I would like to ask you to make such a statement in front of the cameras and to an audience of journalists, and to take questions."
The letter asks four questions:
1) When did you first know about the details of the accusations against Andrew?
2) When you found out the details why did you not ensure that Andrew cooperated fully with law enforcement, and why did you not strip him of his remaining titles?
3) Why have you remained silent on this issue until now? It’s been suggested you will not comment because Andrew is no longer a ‘working royal’, yet the accusations relate to a time when he was.
4) Do you understand the damaging message your silence sends to victims of sexual abuse and to powerful men who abuse women and girls?
Commenting on the action, Graham Smith said today:
"Charles isn't simply Andrew's brother, he's the head of state. If he can't serve the interests of the country because he wants to protect his brother he should resign."
"Andrew is accused of a number of serious offences, including sexuall abuse of underage girls in an orgy. We have challenged the police to investigate, now we're challenging Charles to speak up."
"This scandal isn't just about Andrew, it's about the royal family and the monarchy. It's about powerful people thinking they can get away with whatever they want, that the rules don't apply to them."
"This is why the scandal is causing so much damage to the monarchy, because it goes to the heart of questions of fairness, equality and justice."
"It's time Charles speaks up, publicly and in front of journalists."
Do you like this page?