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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To wonder what happens if the police DON'T bring charges

83 replies

Carycach4 · 21/02/2026 02:01

.... against Andrew? What happens if the police say that after extensive investigations they cannot find evidence of criminal wrongdoing? Has the King jumped the gun a bit, stripping and exiling his brother? Will the RF have egg on their face on the world stage?
Have many organisations, especially media and social media exposed thrmselves to defamation lawsuits from a skint Andy?

OP posts:
EasternStandard · 21/02/2026 10:21

Sesma · 21/02/2026 09:17

Maybe one was more helpful with the enquiries than the other.

Not sure, if arrested you are interviewed I think AMW was anyway, with the process that goes along with it. And Mandelson not sure.

Maybe someone who knows process will say.

BeardofHagrid · 21/02/2026 10:24

BreakingBroken · 21/02/2026 02:12

Charges or not he’s shown very poor judgement regarding who and how he socializes.
Guilty by association.
If he can’t be trusted to behave appropriately in public he needs to be on a very short leash.

If guilty by association was a thing, we would all be locked up 😂😂😂 (I’m not sure that’s how the justice system works.)

MsVisual · 21/02/2026 10:28

Anything that helps to bring the curtain down on the ridiculous institution that is the royal family is a good thing

Spaghettion · 21/02/2026 10:35

They’ve reported the truth though.. Andrew has been arrested for misconduct in a public office, there’s nothing wrong with printing it because that is a fact.
If they’d printed that he’d been charged then fair enough because he hasn’t been yet.
I work with a guy who was arrested for sexual assault, the police come into our office and arrested him in front of everyone.
He was bailed and it took almost a year for the CPS to decide if they were going to charge or not, During that year he was suspended from work.
Andrew’s case will probably take as long and if the CPS do charge it’ll probably take over a year to go to trial, the backlog of court cases is massive.
Just to add, if the CPS don’t charge him that does not mean he is innocent, it just means there isn’t enough evidence to justify an expensive trial.
Im sure the royals would have took legal advice on stripping Andrew of his title ect, they had to do something to acknowledge what’s happening and try to show the world that they don’t support him.

HoppityBun · 21/02/2026 10:39

catipuss · 21/02/2026 07:28

The main part of his job was to show up and be charming to important people he had a wealth of experience of doing that.

Not entirely. John Finnemore this week recorded the following:

Sir Igor Roberts, former Ambassador to Rome, told the Times:

ROBERTS: ‘If I had a criticism it would be that his kind of diplomacy is not mine, in the sense that it has not always led to improved relations with the people he is supposed to be schmoozing’.
JOHN:Which, for a diplomat, is the equivalent of saying:
ROBERTS: He’s a monumental arse who could start a fight with the Dalai Lama in a Prozac factory.
JOHN: Sir Igor went on to say:
ROBERTS: ‘If someone said to me, ‘Why don’t we get the Duke of York to help this British export drive’, my reaction was usually highly negative.’

Laiste · 21/02/2026 10:57

What an arrogant pig of a man he is. Thinking he's untouchable. He hid behind his mothers skirts but now he can't and the world is catching up with him. So glad Charles has drop kicked him out.

His ex wife will just continue to float about in his background i recon. She seems to be a bit thick and in thrall to him still.

His daughters - they never give any indication of where they stand. Maybe they think their parents are beyond reproach and this is all lies, or maybe deep down they're as sickened by them as the rest of us.

x2boys · 21/02/2026 11:04

Carycach4 · 21/02/2026 02:01

.... against Andrew? What happens if the police say that after extensive investigations they cannot find evidence of criminal wrongdoing? Has the King jumped the gun a bit, stripping and exiling his brother? Will the RF have egg on their face on the world stage?
Have many organisations, especially media and social media exposed thrmselves to defamation lawsuits from a skint Andy?

Normally I would say innocent until proven guilty
But I think its fairly obvious that he's been involved in so.e pretty murky business
Wether enough evidence will be found to actually charge him is another matter
I also dont think King Charles has suddenly found a conscience either
I think hes stripped AMW of all his titles etc purely for damage limitation rather than any real concerns for whatever his brother has been involved in.

ExtraOnions · 21/02/2026 11:06

There is Morally wrong, and there is Legally wrong .. the CPS can only prosecute the latter.

They can also only prosecute based on the law in this country.

They will also be looking at crimes in their Jurisdiction (this country and associated territories)

They also need corroboration in evidence.

I don’t think it’s as simple as people think it is.

MrsBennetsPoorNervesAreBack · 21/02/2026 11:09

ThatFairy · 21/02/2026 02:36

I wonder what he's allegedly done. I mean although what he did before was wrong it wasn't illegal. I don't think ? Haven't been keeping up with the news

That's obvious.

ThatFairy · 21/02/2026 11:31

catipuss · 21/02/2026 07:32

Quite likely if she was going to write another book and actually name some of the other men she slept with. I'm sure some of them would be pretty dangerous to cross unlike Andrew.

I believe she did mention someone she was too frightened to name

ThatFairy · 21/02/2026 11:36

FoxLoxInSox · 21/02/2026 09:43

Sorry but I have to point out two important points here:

  • The term ‘commit suicide’ is deeply problematic and stems from when suicide was an illegal act. It is deeply stigmatising and is no longer seen as an acceptable term. Instead: ‘end their life’ / ‘took their life’.
  • Not true at all that mothers don’t / won’t take their lives. Such myths prevent mothers coming forwards for help and perpetuate myths in the minds of professionals who often overlook women’s risk of suicide by dint of the fact they’re mothers. Leading to catastrophe. The taboo around mothers’ suicidality is unhelpful and harmful.

I'm sorry but I won't not say the word "suicide" because some people don't like it. It's bad enough seeing the tik tok "unalived" and other baby talk

mucky123 · 21/02/2026 11:55

Emori · 21/02/2026 08:53

Charles sacked him to save himself and preserve the monarchy. He's basically like Paulie turning his back on Jimmy at this point.

Don't you mean paulie turning his back on henry? Interesting after Paulie does this Henry turns states evidence on Paulie and brings the whole firm down.

gamerchick · 21/02/2026 12:00

YABU for not saying what you were talking about in the title. There's a fuckton of threads about bloody Andrew. Not everyone is obsessed.

HoppityBun · 21/02/2026 12:04

ThatFairy · 21/02/2026 11:36

I'm sorry but I won't not say the word "suicide" because some people don't like it. It's bad enough seeing the tik tok "unalived" and other baby talk

The people saying this are those who work with and those who are directly affected by suicide. The issue is the word “ commit”, which in this context is associated with criminal law, because suicide use to be a criminal act.

So it’s ok to say that someone died by suicide or that they killed themselves.

Saying “I’m sorry” does not give a free pass on consideration. You won’t change now, I realise that, because it’s a natural tendency to double down. So stick with your view.

But perhaps over time you might find yourself able to move a little on this issue.

Horribleplaces · 21/02/2026 12:06

HeadyLamarr · 21/02/2026 06:21

What a ghoulish thing to say about a poor woman who'd been trafficked and abused.

Or is it more likely as she had been trafficked abused and outed a member of the royal family. Was there someone else wanting her silenced.

Horribleplaces · 21/02/2026 12:07

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Rocknrollstar · 21/02/2026 12:12

Carycach4 · 21/02/2026 02:01

.... against Andrew? What happens if the police say that after extensive investigations they cannot find evidence of criminal wrongdoing? Has the King jumped the gun a bit, stripping and exiling his brother? Will the RF have egg on their face on the world stage?
Have many organisations, especially media and social media exposed thrmselves to defamation lawsuits from a skint Andy?

There are two different issues. He’s been arrested so they can investigate his behaviour as a trade envoy and giving secrets to Epstein. He was removed from Royal Family etc because of his involvement with Epstein, Maxwell, trafficking and having sex with young girls who were provided for him.

ThatFairy · 21/02/2026 12:19

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That's what I was thinking. He looks like a man who might kill himself.

HoppityBun · 21/02/2026 12:20

ThatFairy · 21/02/2026 12:19

That's what I was thinking. He looks like a man who might kill himself.

The current thinking is that the coward’s way out will be a one way trip to Dubai.

Horribleplaces · 21/02/2026 12:21

HoppityBun · 21/02/2026 12:20

The current thinking is that the coward’s way out will be a one way trip to Dubai.

I feel he may have missed that opportunity and if he can’t go and they uncover more it’ll be a breaking news headline at some point.

Catwalking · 21/02/2026 12:30

Huh, …KC committed adultery with QC -nobody seems bothered about that, so why is anything gonna happen about AMW, expensive waste of police time is what I think.

MrsChristmasHasResigned · 21/02/2026 12:31

He won’t be charged. The charges against him are notoriously hard to prove. But this way tge RF will say they took decisive action. AMW will skulk off to somewhere very private, probably abroad.

MrsChristmasHasResigned · 21/02/2026 12:32

ThatFairy · 21/02/2026 12:19

That's what I was thinking. He looks like a man who might kill himself.

Too much of a narcissist.

MrsSlocombesCat · 21/02/2026 12:35

HeadyLamarr · 21/02/2026 06:21

What a ghoulish thing to say about a poor woman who'd been trafficked and abused.

No it's not ghoulish at all. She brought Andrew and Epstein down, plus others. A lot of people think Epstein was murdered too. Two people with a lot of knowledge about other "important" people. After all, her accusations and book prompted a lot of pressure for the Epstein files to be released.

MrsSlocombesCat · 21/02/2026 12:38

ThatFairy · 21/02/2026 11:36

I'm sorry but I won't not say the word "suicide" because some people don't like it. It's bad enough seeing the tik tok "unalived" and other baby talk

That's because those words are heavily censored on video platforms.