Andrew Mountbatten Windsor was once a prince. Not anymore. The man who was once second in line to the British crown no longer commands any respect from anybody. He only elicits revulsion and rage from the citizens of his country at his long years of abusive behaviour. His own brother King Charles stripped him of his titles and forced him to move out of his massive Royal Lodge. Andrew's not even welcome at the family Christmas lunch. Worse still the monarch pledged to cooperate with police if approached to help with any investigation into his brother's alleged crimes. And now the police have arrested him.
The former Prince Andrew believed he enjoyed total impunity - and indeed for decades he did. He felt entitled to do as he pleased - in every way. Even when a photo surfaced of him with his chubby fingers round the bare midriff of a 17 year old Virginia Giuffre in the company of convicted child sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell, nothing happened. How things have changed.
The former Prince is under investigation that he passed on national state secrets and official reports, that he had access to as UK trade envoy, to Jeffrey Epstein between 2001 and 2011, some of them after Epstein had been convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor. Those reports allegedly contained important details about potential financial and investment opportunities in China, Singapore, Vietnam and Hong Kong. Now Thames Valley Police have launched an inquiry into allegations that the former Prince shared those confidential trade reports.
Nobody could have imagined that the British police would ever investigate Queen Elizabeth's favourite son. No one dreamt that the King's own brother would face a police inquiry let alone be arrested. Everybody assumed Andrew would never face consequences for his actions. The whole world was resigned to the fact that he would keep evading justice for ever, as he'd already done for decades. We were all wrong. Police searched Andrew's former home in the Royal Lodge. His brother the King simply said "the law must take its course".
Andrew has yet to be charged with any crimes. Pressure is also steadily rising for Andrew to speak to testify before the American congress over what he knows about his friend Jeffrey Epstein and his own role in the sordid affairs. Justice is yet to run its course but Andrew's catastrophic fall from grace and his humiliating banishment from Royal Lodge, the stripping of his titles and his arrest are a ray of hope in a world riven with injustice. Andrew Mountbattten Windsor has finally been disowned even by his own royal family, even by his own brother.
And harsh as that may seem, it is a story of reparation. It restores the faith of many in Martin Luther King's famous words - "the arc of the moral universe is long but it curves towards justice". It delivers a healthy dose of hope to those who watched in disbelief as people in power betrayed the trust of those who put them there - repeatedly, brazenly and shamelessly. It eases the intense frustration of watching rampant abuse by political leaders and cabinet ministers who get away with murder - and being praised for it.
It took decades for Andrew Mountbatten Windsor to start to face the consequences of his actions. But it's happening - swiftly and decisively. No matter how secure you think you are, no matter how much power you think you have justice will come for you. Decades may pass but you won't escape. Facts you thought were buried or forgotten will come back to haunt you. No matter how hard you've tried to conceal the evidence it will resurface, sometimes decades later.
There are more important lessons. Those who covered up for Andrew, those who protected him, those who paid to silence the victims are equally guilty. They bear part of the heavy burden of the many lives ruined. The former prince claimed the photo was fake and many took his word for it. For years the testimony of those young women was ignored or even ridiculed. Not anymore. For Virginia Giuffre it is too late but at least for her family they can finally rest, knowing that Virginia wasn't a liar as she had been accused. Her claims were true after all. Now those who aided and abetted the abusers to cover up their tracks and continue with their abuse must also face justice. Those who were responsible for protecting the abused but instead defended the abusers must answer for their failures.
That's no different here. Those who have abused their position and looted the state will one day face justice. The hidden secrets over so many manifestly corrupt deals and side agreements - from the Vitals-Steward deal, to the Electrogas power station, to the ITS land deal, to the Fortina scandal, to the American University of Malta, the St Vincent de Paule quarter billion euro kitchen - will come to light. The phantom jobs, the Gozo ministry consultancy, the Malita collapse, the massive property empires, the hundreds of millions in direct contracts, will be properly investigated and the truth will come out - maybe late, but better than never. And those who schemed and abused of a nation's trust will suffer the indignity and humiliation that the former Prince Andrew now faces.
Those who covered up for them will finally have to answer for their inaction and for providing them impunity. The Attorney General has a duty, and that doesn't include providing nolle prosequi to those identified as potential targets of prosecution by magisterial inquiries. The Commissioner of Police has a duty, and that doesn't include closing both eyes when convenient or studiously ignoring FIAU reports and media reports. The judiciary has a duty of fairness and impartiality. Those are huge responsibilities.
But there is one other important lesson from Andrew's depressing story. The British public didn't rally round him. Nobody claimed that "there is no proof, just many allegations". The King didn't defend him. Charles didn't thank him and express his admiration for his brother for putting the family first. We have a responsibility too - not to be stupid and to reject all attempts by the powerful to launder their and their friends' reputations.
No royal had ever been arrested since the 17th century. Andrew believed he was safe from arrest and immune to accountability. For those who still think they're safe, they should think again.