King Charleshas been accused of orchestrating a 'cover-up' at the heart of the monarchy after granting a royal honour to Charlotte Manley, a key witness in the criminal investigation intoPrince Andrew's links to Jeffrey Epstein, during a ceremony at Windsor Castle earlier this year.
The controversy erupted after it emerged that Manley, 68, Andrew's former private secretary and later treasurer, is due to be questioned by police over allegations that the former Duke of York may have sold state secrets to Epstein while serving as the UK's trade envoy. Andrew, who lost his HRH style and military titles after his civil settlement with Virginia Giuffre, has consistently denied any criminal wrongdoing in relation to the late financier.
Manley, a former Royal Navy officer who worked for Andrew between 1996 and 2003, was made a Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, an honour granted personally by the monarch for services to the royal family. The timing, weeks after it became known she would be interviewed by investigators, has led critics to allege that King Charles is attempting to shore up loyalty among those closest to his brother.
Asked by a UK reporter about her upcoming discussion with officers, Manley responded tersely: 'I would rather talk to the police than the press, not that I would have much to tell them.' The remark did little to calm speculation that the palace is attempting to manage, and possibly contain, those who might shed light on Andrew's conduct during his years as Britain's trade envoy.
The latest twist in the Prince Andrew investigation follows his arrest on 19 February, when he was detained but not charged, according to accounts cited in US and UK media. That move came after the US Department of Justice released a trove of emails, documents and photographs said to detail Andrew's alleged kickback arrangements with Epstein, alongside claims of encounters with sex workers and 'barely legal' young women during official trips.
Sources quoted by the US tabloid Globe claim that royal household staff have been quietly warned against assisting detectives. One insider alleged that employees had been 'reminded about their pensions' and told they could be cut off if they cooperated with police, describing the situation as 'basically blackmail.'
The same source insisted that, in private, King Charles is far less enthusiastic about full transparency than his public stance might suggest.
'Publicly, King Charles is supporting the police investigation into his brother's activities, but privately he is trying to prevent them from doing their job,' the insider told Globe, adding, 'Everything they do is to try to protect the monarchy.'
Manley is seen by some within the royal orbit as unusually exposed. During Andrew's social peak with Epstein around the turn of the millennium, she was not only his private secretary but, between 2001 and 2003, his treasurer. One source quoted by Globe alleges that in 2000 she signed a £100 Buckingham Palace cheque on Andrew's behalf for a 'massage' arranged by Ghislaine Maxwell, now serving a 20-year sentence in a Texas prison for her role in Epstein's sex-trafficking network. That specific claim has not been corroborated by official documents in the public domain.
Those accusing King Charles of a cover-up argue that the Manley honour fits a longer-running pattern in which royal honours are used to reward loyalists who quietly support the family.
Source: International Business Times UK
