Despite his villainous behaviour, anyone feel a teeny bit sorry for Andrew?

I'm not sure my secrets are on a par with anything Andrew has been accused of

What is shocking to me is how many people had so much to do with Epstein long after they should have.

I don't think Andrew is being 'picked on' but I also don't like the idea that if they get one big 'scalp' justice can be considered to be served. I think this could happen.

Nothing is happening in the US where most of Epstein's crimes and victims were.

You're judging the whole thing from a 2026 perspective- it's easy to be pious in hindsight
I don't like what he's done, but I totally cut him slack for behaving like a spoilt prince
It's the mechanisms that allow someone to do that that need to be scrutinised- and we sure are doing that now
It's the baying for blood, witch-hunt aspect that actually appalls me
None of us is without our secrets and peccadilloes- just thank god that what you've done and said in the past will remain there.
If we weren't hamstrung by what is currently politically correct, we'd be having very different public discussions than about one errant prince.

No

Lots of people have their arrest put into the public domain if they are high profile - I don't really care much about any of them tbh. They live a pampered privileged life while other people can't afford to eat

Very unlikely that he'll be sent to prison even if he's convicted. Said in the press yesterday that he would be too much of a risk to be inside prison - not sure that what he's been involved in is a result of changing times and attitudes tbh

Of course he should be arrested for offences if he meets the threshold - and it was right that this happened. It was wrong that GF was bought off and AMW didn’t face judicial process as any of the rest of us would regarding what we understand of his conduct to her. Do we know if he’s been charged? But the level of public censure and shaming, and the fact that his brother has to publically state his approval, and the fact that if any of his family now go near him this will be front page news and they too will be shamed, all mean that his experience of this arrest is on a different planet to how the rest of us would fare. Baiting AMB is now an international blood sport. TOL have suspended comments on him and I think that’s the right decision. He is a product of an utterly dysfunctional institution.

He’s made his own bed, but is partly a victim of changing times and attitudes.
Agree that its odd that from millions of pages of documents his is the only case really hitting the headlines.
I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he took matters into his own hands - It’s a bit of a witch hunt now, and I can’t imagine him surviving long in HMP system!

In a Hollywood film, this would be the moment at which Andrew - with nothing else to lose - does a Samson and appears in the US and blows it all to pieces. Final revenge for 1776, as he walks away with the credits rolling and the Union Flag restored to the Whitehouse.

No, I don't feel sorry for him, he knew what he was doing. I do, however, wonder why he seems to be the only one copping any flak when clearly, this ran deep.

No

Being in a uber-privileged world doesn't remove your ability to comprehend what constitute abuse. Do you think he would have been ok if one of his daughter has been included in one of the "meetings" with another man?

It's an interesting way of thinking however, which could be used for everyone who wants to get rid of the royal family. If you believe that being raised in that environment makes you so cut off the real world, surely they are the worst people on earth to 'represent" the country and too dangerous to keep in their position of privilege.

I don't feel sorry. But it strikes me that he must be feeling a thousand times worse not only watching Trump getting away with much worse, but washing himself in Andrews shame.

Thank you for your kind words. Yes, I’ve been through tonnes of therapy, as has my DSis, who was also abused. We both suffer from complex PTSD, but we’ve both built good lives for ourselves, with our own families.

It helps that our F is long dead, though it’s hard that, like VG’s father and all those other men who abused her, he never faced justice. Neither did any of our other abusers. So sadly, I’m disgusted but not surprised that there’s been no justice for her or Epstein’s other victims.

Maybe there will be some form of justice now, if AMB is convicted of Misconduct in Public Office, but I have my doubts on that score.

I think you’re onto something with the “of it’s time” thing. I also think the passage of time between the alleged offences and the actual consequences perhaps gives a distance that can make people feel a little sorry for him. Along with the fact that things that may have been accepted somewhat back then are now dealt with firmly. If he was taken to task at the time I think it would be clearer cut and feel absolutely appropriate. It’s easier to feel sorry for a disgraced older man who probably hasn’t done anything wrong in recent years than a man who is actively doing these things being held to account.

But that aside, you can’t tell me that it wasn’t drilled into him that he had to be squeaky clean. That he has huge undeserved privilege just like all the royals do. They live an absolute life of luxury and the cost of that is that they cannot get involved in dodgy deals or shady behaviour. So it may be late coming, but it’s right that it’s investigated and dealt with accordingly, and that in his position he had a higher bar to uphold.

I feel a bit sorry for his daughters, but mostly for his victims tbh.

I mean this is so clearly insane misinformation! And frankly I find it offensive to the actual crimes committed - it’s as if we don’t think involving teenagers in prostitution/sex for money/life style benefits is a bad enough thing on its own, so are making up worse stories. It just calls the whole investigation and claims into disrepute!

Do you think Charles cooks his own meals or cleaned his own house? You think the King has just discovered what Andrew is like? - he was stripped of his titles ages ago. This has been in the news for years now - Andrews connections to Epstein - why do you think Charles wouldn't know anything?

Prince Andrews ties with Epstein were known LONG before Charles became King and if reports are to be believed Charles gave Andrew money as part of the settlement against Virginia Guiffre. I think they've known for quite some time what sort of person Andrew is and he's still paying for him to live in a standard living most people can only dream of so I really would save your compassion for him.

I don't get either why people keep bringing up his time in the Navy. It shouldn't be used to deflect or minimise what he has been accused of.

Not a shred of sympathy for him for Fergie and probably the girls are up to their necks in it too. What's the brothel story?

100%

She prioritised the power of the monarchy in defending him no matter what, rather than holding him to account for anything.

No, I’m reserving any sympathy for the victims, and hoping that if someone in his close or wider family really had no idea, that they are being cared for if they are affected by his downfall.

Yeah, I'm interested by that too. I mean, I think he almost certainly DID commit Misconduct in Public Office, but what about trafficking women to the UK for the purposes of prostitution? I guess the police can only follow the evidence and there is a lot of info in the public sphere that is hearsay. Can he be held accountable in a UK court for the trafficking? Only if the evidence of his complicity exists. And does it? I don't know. He didn't pay them, so ???

Absolutely not, OP.

By that standard, every obscenely wealthy, famous, never-heard-the-word-no person who has spent their adult lives doing as and what they like, good or bad, should be felt sorry for should they FINALLY be held to account for really shitty, unlawful behaviour ... because they're not used to it.

No, I feel compassion for parents looking after children so disabled they will never be able to live independently. Those are parents who are getting no respite and are often the victims of their own children. Compared to those people who cope with dreadful circumstances, Andrew has had a marvellously privileged life. Yes, he fought bravely in the Falklands War, but he seems to have had a very cushy life ever after. I doubt that Andrew has ever cooked his own meals, cleaned his own house or worried about paying for groceries for the week. At least not until now. I have compassion for the King who, after an incredibly long wait to be king, has discovered the appalling truth about his brother and is trying to protect the rest of his family. I look at Princess Anne and think about all her unstinting work over the years and feel nothing but admiration

He’s not broken enough IMO

yabu