Andrew's arrest is 'incredibly bad' for royal family, anti-monarchy campaigner says

Record ID: 2342699

  • Title: Andrew's arrest is 'incredibly bad' for royal family, anti-monarchy campaigner says
  • Date: 19th February 2026
  • Summary: READING, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FEBRUARY 19, 2026) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEAD CAMPAIGNER AT ANTI-MONARCHY GROUP 'REPUBLIC,' GRAHAM SMITH, SAYING:     "This is so bad. And obviously, these allegations are the financial, you know, leaking things. But what's really toxic is the constant drip, drip, drip of accusations around sexual abuse. And again, I mean, it's i
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: ARREST BRITAIN EPSTEIN MONARCHY PRINCE ANDREW ROYAL FAMILY ROYALS UK
  • Location: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • City: VARIOUS LOCATIONS, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
  • Country: UK
  • Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment,Europe,Royals
  • Reuters ID: LVA004690419022026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:     Arrest of King Charles' younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is "incredibly bad" for the royal family, an anti-monarchy campaigner told Reuters on Thursday (February 19).
         Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations he sent confidential government documents to Jeffrey Epstein.
        The arrest of the senior royal, eighth in line to the throne, is unprecedented in modern times.
        "Whilst there are people who are over the age of 60 who probably think that, you know, it's one bad apple, I think most people under the age of 50 think, well, why is it taking so long to come out? What have they been hiding," lead campaigner at Republic, Graham Smith, said.
         The former prince, the second son of the late Queen Elizabeth, who is in police custody, has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, and said he regrets their friendship.
         Mountbatten-Windsor's office did not respond to a request for comment and he has not spoken publicly since the release of more than 3 million pages of documents by the U.S. government relating to Epstein, who was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.
     (Production: Vitalii Yalahuzian)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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