A fiery debate broke out on Good Morning Britain this morning as tensions flared between royal experts over whether King Charles should publicly “denounce” Prince Andrew following the latest Epstein-related scandal.
Hosts Ed Balls and Charlotte Hawkins were joined in the studio by former royal correspondent Simon McCoy and royal biographer Robert Hardman, whose opposing views on the king’s handling of his brother’s controversies sparked a heated on-air clash.
The row came just one day after King Charles was heckled during his visit to Lichfield Cathedral.
A protester shouted questions about Prince Andrew’s association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Prince Andrew scandal
Andrew has faced much scandal over the years, mostly due to his association with Epstein.
The prince has also faced sexual assault allegations, which he has always vehemently denied.
In 2021, Andrew was sued by Virginia Giuffre. Ms Giuffre claimed that she was trafficked by Epstein and made to have sex with the royal on three separate occasions in the early 2000s when she was 17.
They reached an out-of-court settlement in early 2022 for an undisclosed sum. Prince Andrew repeated that the settlement did not mean any liability or admission of guilt.
On October 21 of this year, Ms Giuffre’s posthumous memoir reignited scrutiny over the allegations. The book was released six months after her suicide in April.
Meanwhile, a 2011 email sent by Andrew to Epstein recently surfaced, in which the prince allegedly told the disgraced financier, “we are in this together,” despite previously insisting he cut ties with Epstein in late 2010.
It’s also been claimed that Epstein, alongside his associate Ghislaine Maxwell and disgraced film producer Harvey Weinstein, were hosted at Andrew’s home, Royal Lodge, in 2006, amid Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday celebrations.
GMB debate over whether or not King Charles should ‘denounce’ Prince Andrew
On Tuesday’s GMB, former BBC newsreader Simon McCoy launched a furious critique of the royal family’s silence on Andrew scandal. He claimed that the public is “very angry” and feels “treated like fools”.
McCoy said. “The monarchy is facing an existential crisis unless [the king] does something.”
Royal biographer Robert Hardman, however, pushed back. He argued that the monarchy must remain above public outrage and avoid reacting to every headline.
Hardman went on to compare the current controversy to the period when Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made public accusations against the royal family.
‘Don’t bring Harry into that sort of league’
“For about 12 weeks non-stop, you had Harry and his six-part Netflix series, followed by his book Spare, and all these interviews around it. There were these constant accusations being lobbed at the monarchy. The king didn’t respond because the monarchy is above that kind of stuff,” Hardman argued.
But McCoy quickly snapped back.
“You cannot compare Harry and Andrew,” he said. “We have Andrew, who is wanted for questioning in America… for help in investigating a very serious, global scandal. Don’t bring Harry into that sort of league.”
Hardman countered that Andrew “hasn’t been accused of anything” criminal and questioned what, exactly, the king was expected to “denounce”.
Hardman insisted that the problem is “the uncertainty” surrounding Andrew’s situation.
“If you had a final judgement… then there would be something for the king to talk about,” he explained. “We’re discussing something that could change next week. On a weekly basis, we get new revelations about the Andrew story. No one knows where the Epstein story is going. It’s much bigger than just Prince Andrew.”
When Ed Balls said that Andrew had already been “stripped” of his titles, McCoy interjected furiously.
“He has not had anything done to him! He voluntarily gave up some titles,” he said.
When asked, McCoy also agreed that he would support legislation to formally strip Andrew of his dukedom.
‘He is not is a traitor’
But Hardman firmly disagreed with this stance.
“I think it would be the wrong thing,” he said. “The last person to have his titles stripped was someone who fought for the Kaiser in the First World War. Whatever you think about Prince Andrew, the one thing he is not is a traitor. He fought for his country. Stop treating him like someone who’s fighting against it.”
“We need to keep a sense of perspective,” he added. “When there is some concrete decision that the king can about, that’s the time to speak.”
I’m afraid we have to draw things to a close there.
As the two guests began talking over one another, Charlotte Hawkins was forced to intervene.
“We will have to leave it there,” she said firmly, as the argument continued.
But when neither man stopped, she interjected again.
“I’m afraid we have to draw things to a close there,” she said. “We are out of time.”
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