Anti-monarchy protesters unfurl Andrew and Epstein banner in Buckingham Palace throne room
Anti-monarchy protesters unfurled a banner depicting Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein in the Buckingham Palace throne room on Monday.
Two activists from the Republican campaign group asked: ‘What did you know?’ He held up a giant banner that said: It’s emblazoned on the famous photo of Andrew and Epstein walking together in Central Park in 2010.
The demonstrators are understood to have purchased tickets for the public opening of the State Rooms at the palace before setting out to perform.
Police are preparing to interview victims of pedophile Epstein in the US, while Republic continues a possible private investigation into Andrew.
The campaign group is using the demonstration to demand answers from King Charles and Prince William about what they know about the allegations against Andrew regarding Epstein and how long it will take.
Green MP Sian Berry plans to raise the issue of royal privacy in parliament this week, calling for an end to the royal being exempt from freedom of information rules.
Graham Smith, speaking for the Republic, said today: ‘Republic activists have taken questions about Andrew to the heart of the royal family, the symbolic home of the monarchy.
Two activists from the Republican campaign group asked: ‘What did you know?’ He held up a giant banner that said: decorated on it.
Anti-monarchy protesters unfurled a banner depicting Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein in the Buckingham Palace throne room
‘This question will not go away. It is simply unconvincing to think that Charles and William were not informed of the numerous allegations against Andrew all those years ago.’
‘The security services, police and government had concerns about Andrew’s behavior and would have informed the palace. Not least because of the potential threat to national security and the risk of blackmail.
‘We need the Palace to make a full statement and the government needs to take action as they refuse to talk. That’s why it’s so important that Green MP Sian Berry this week called for reforms to freedom of information rules to end royal secrecy.
‘Unless these questions are answered, the republic will not rest, and the protests will not stop until the monarchy is over. The monarchy exists in secrecy and this secrecy must end.
Buckingham Palace itself was also directly implicated in the allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Jeffrey Epstein.
In February this year, an unidentified woman in her 20s claimed she was trafficked to England by Epstein to have sexual intercourse with Andrew at the Royal Lodge, his former residence in Windsor, in 2010.
He was allegedly taken to Buckingham Palace for tea and a private tour after spending the night there, his lawyer Brad Edwards said.
Andrew has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
But he was arrested on February 19, his 66th birthday, on suspicion of misconduct in public office in connection with his dealings with Epstein.
Emails on file appeared to show the former prince passing confidential details of investment opportunities to the convicted pedophile following visits to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam in 2010 and 2011.
This was after Epstein was first convicted and sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 for soliciting a prostitute and procuring a child for prostitution.
Perhaps the most high-profile allegation against Andrew came from the late Virginia Giuffre.
Ms Guiffre accused Andrew of having sex with her three times in 2001, when she was 17, after Epstein and his accomplice Ghislain Maxwell sold her to the disgraced royal family.
The encounters were said to have taken place at Maxwell’s home in London, Epstein’s New York mansion and Epstein’s notorious private island, and Ms Guiffre said she was forced to have sexual intercourse with Andrew.
The famous photo of Andrew and Miss Guiffre is believed to have been taken at Maxwell’s London home.
Ms Guiffre died by suicide in April 2025, aged 41, near her home in Australia.
In June, the royal family announced that no British monarch would ever live permanently at Buckingham Palace again, despite a £369 million taxpayer-funded renovation of the historic royal residence.
Renovations have been under way at the palace for almost a decade and are due to be completed next year, but King Charles and Camilla have said they will stay at Clarence House, opposite The Mall, instead.
Andrew’s own living situation caused a huge controversy following the release of the Epstein files.
His release from Royal Lodge was hastened by Charles following revelations surrounding the Duke of York’s dealings with the pedophile financier.
This is breaking news. Follow for more updates.
