As Andrew fell, Queen Elizabeth II held out hope, and Charles and William fumed

"LONDON - As sordid allegations engulfed Prince Andrew, the middle of her three sons, Queen Elizabeth displayed the eternal hope of a mother. Charles, heir to the throne, showed the cold impatience of a sibling. And William, the embarrassed dismay of a nephew. Countless families deal with a difficult relative. In the House of Windsor, he was the not-so-grand Duke of York - now reduced to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after being stripped of his royal titles over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein."

"Andrew has long been a thorn in the royal family's side as he denied allegations of sexual misconduct, and yet again and again new evidence revealed his ties to Epstein were far closer and went on far longer than he admitted. But the three generations of the royal family each confronted the challenge differently, reflecting their own personal stake in Andrew's downward spiral. Last week, after Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested in connection with potential misconduct during his time as a trade envoy, King Charles III issued a terse, first-person statement - extremely rare for a British monarch. "Let me state clearly: the law must take its course," Charles said."

"Royal commentator Craig Prescott saw the moment as emblematic of a broader shift. "Charles didn't prevaricate about this. His statement was released very quickly," Prescott said, adding: "You get the sense that William would have gone much further, much earlier." Each generation, in other words, has less and less tolerance for Windsor's wayward son."

Prince Andrew's ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and repeated denials of wrongdoing deepened a family crisis and led to his stripping of royal titles. The late Queen Elizabeth responded with maternal hope and restrained behavior while tolerating his denials for years. King Charles moved quickly to create institutional distance, issuing a rare first-person statement emphasizing that the law must take its course after an arrest related to alleged misconduct. Prince William reacted with embarrassment and a desire for firmer action. Each generation showed decreasing tolerance for Andrew's conduct and the risks it posed to the monarchy.

Read at The Washington Post