The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is a seismic moment for the royal family as well as for himself. On one hand, it is hard to believe any greater harm can befall the family from the weeks of drip-feed from the US Department of Justice’s Epstein files. On the other, a royal arrest of this sort is unprecedented. Enough is already in the public domain to indicate that police believe that there must be a case to answer to the charge of misconduct in public office.

King Charles, who apparently was not warned in advance that his brother was to be arrested, has been scrupulous in his response. “The law must take its course,” he said, offering prosecutors “full and wholehearted support and cooperation”. Whatever happens now, a line has been crossed in the life of the nation. A once exalted royal, facing serious judicial investigation by authorites acting on behalf of the citizenry. Stripped of status and finery, he faces the spotlight as would any other habitant of these isles. One cannot know the outcome, but just this arrest means things can never be the same.

Until now the royal family’s involvements with the law have been minimal. In her wilder days Princess Anne’s dog bit a girl in Windsor Great Park and she was fined £500. She was also fined £400 for speeding in Gloucestershire. Apart from that, researchers into royal quarrels with the law have had to go back to Charles I and Mary, Queen of Scots.

This case begins at the time when Andrew strayed from the tedious round of royal duties, of fete openings and palace........

© The Guardian