When the Palace announced last October that Andrew would not use his royal titles and would quit Royal Lodge in Windsor for the obscurity of the Sandringham estate, King Charles, his heir Prince William and the rest of the family were keen to draw a line.

The latest revelations in the document dump from the Epstein files shows that line is nowhere near enough an insulation for the Crown from Andrew, now plain Mountbatten-Windsor, the family’s black sheep.

A hail of sordid new emails, accusations and images have made clear that the story is not over. Nor is the fraught question of what to do with Mountbatten-Windsor.

For one thing, the former prince’s previous reluctant admissions are shown to be false in word and spirit – not only did he maintain dealings with a man convicted of sexual offenses against a minor out of a stiff-nicked sense of “duty”, but he also remained entwined enough in Epstein’s tawdry circle to be sent a “trustworthy” Russian woman and separately to make invitations guaranteeing Epstein “privacy” at Buckingham Palace.

Added to which a second complainant also in her twenties says she spent the night with Mountbatten-Windsor at Royal Lodge in 2010 at the late sex trafficker Epstein’s behest.

The line between foolish behaviour in the wake of his divorce and actions that would have been illegal is one that Mountbatten-Windsor’s lawyers will be keen to uphold.

For today’s Royals however, the risk factor is that they appear to have turned a blind eye to misconduct by a spoilt and unaccountable younger brother.

Sluggishness on behalf of the Palace has........

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