00:00Let's talk next to Ed Owens, the royal historian and the author of the book, After Elizabeth, Can the Monarchy
00:06Save Itself?
00:07Ed, welcome. Just how unprecedented is this for the royal family?
00:12This is completely unprecedented. We've never had an instance of a member of the British royal family being arrested by
00:19the British police in this way.
00:21And it comes after months of, I think, devastating revelations regarding Andrew McBatton-Windsor's behaviour.
00:28What does this mean for the royal family in a wider context?
00:33Because they have been distancing themselves from Andrew over the past few months, haven't they?
00:39They have, very deliberately. When it became apparent that Andrew had lied in the now infamous 2019 Newsnight interview with
00:46Emily Maitlis,
00:47when he discussed his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, very gradually the royal household have been distancing themselves from him.
00:54First of all, the king making clear that his sympathies, his compassion very much with the victims of Epstein's crimes,
01:00but then more recently in defenestrating his brother, de-princing him, if you like, making him an ordinary citizen so
01:06that this legal process could unfold naturally.
01:11The royal family, the king, have said that they will cooperate with the police.
01:17I wonder what does that mean in real terms and how significant is that?
01:24I think it is very significant. First and foremost, it will be about sharing information, any information that they might
01:30possess regarding either Andrew's relationship with Epstein,
01:34his time as a trade envoy on behalf of the United Kingdom that might be relevant to the investigation, could
01:39be shared by the royal household.
01:40But it could also mean speaking, conversing with the police, maybe members of the royal household courtiers or indeed members
01:47of the British royal family.
01:49This story goes, though, doesn't it, beyond the royal family?
01:55It does. I think this is of great concern for the institution of monarchy within this country more generally.
02:03We've had two major scandals in the last century, 1936, the abdication crisis involving Edward VIII,
02:10and then more recently how the monarchy sort of rebuilt its public image post the death of Diana in 1997.
02:16Those were two critical moments for the monarchy from which it was able to recover.
02:20We are in another moment of crisis management.
02:23It's a very, very tricky situation that the monarchy finds itself in.
02:27And I think that the country is rightly asking difficult questions of why it's taken so long for us to
02:34reach this point that we've reached today.
02:36We should repeat again that Andrew has always denied wrongdoing over his connections to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
02:43Your book was called After Elizabeth, Can the Monarchy Save Itself?
02:47What's the answer?
02:49I think there is a lot to play for.
02:51I think, depending on how long this particular crisis endures, it's very difficult to say.
02:59I don't think the monarchy has been under this much pressure for at least 30 years.
03:03Ed, good to talk to you. Thanks for that.
03:05Ed Owens, the royal historian and the author of the book After Elizabeth, Can the Monarchy Save Itself?
03:10I don't think the monarchy has been under this much pressure for at least 30 years.
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