In the wake of fresh revelations regarding the Duke of York’s contentious ties with the late Jeffrey Epstein, the question once again surfaces: how does one address the ongoing issue of Prince Andrew?

The recent disclosures have stirred unease. To revisit the events, back in February 2011, a notorious image surfaced showing Andrew with his arm around a young Virginia Giuffre, while Ghislaine Maxwell smiled beside them. The following day, Prince Andrew sent a message to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender for whom Maxwell had reportedly recruited young girls, expressing solidarity: “We are in this together and will have to rise above it.”

Adding to the controversy, he continued with, “We’ll play some more soon!!!!”

This email was dispatched just three months after Andrew, during a 2019 interview with Emily Maitlis on Newsnight, claimed he had cut all ties with Epstein. This not only contradicts his statements from that BBC interview but also reveals his mindset at the time.

His attitude appeared remarkably nonchalant and dismissive, bordering on arrogance. He seemed to believe the scandal would dissipate, that everything would return to normal with time. It was merely a matter of enduring the storm. “Hold tight, dear friend,” he seemed to suggest, “we’ll be back in the saddle soon!”

It’s the choice of words that is unsettling. “Play together”—what did he really mean by that? It likely wasn’t a reference to board games. The emphasis and exclamation marks hint at something more insidious, especially considering Epstein had not long been released from prison for sex offenses.

So what happens now? How much longer can the Palace pretend that this is not a massive problem, one that – if further revelations are in store – could even threaten the stability of the Monarchy?

How can the King mitigate the slow-motion car crash that is his younger brother? Calls are mounting for him to Do Something, even as Palace courtiers admit there is nothing, really, he can do.

Prince Andrew, King Charles and Prince William at Katharine, the Duchess of Kent’s funeral last month

The Prince’s lease on Royal Lodge (which doesn’t expire until 2078) is watertight, provided he can keep up the payments, which it seems he can. He’s already been stripped of his military titles and charity affiliations and is banned from using the HRH honorific.

It is theoretically possible that he could also be stripped of his dukedom, but that would require Parliamentary intervention. And anyway, what would that achieve? The man is clearly immune to all forms of humiliation, as his recent, shameless public appearances show.

Unable to lock him up in the Tower of London, or have him executed on trumped-up charges of treason (tempting, one imagines), what are the King’s options?

Everyone’s asking the wrong question. We shouldn’t be wondering what more the King can do to solve the problem, we should be asking what Andrew can do to make himself less of a thorn in his brother’s side. Hasn’t Charles got enough on his plate, what with having been ill and dealing with that nightmare brat of a younger son?

Why can’t Prince Andrew, for once in his pathetic, pampered life, just do the right thing – and fall on his sword?

We all make mistakes. And, yes, Andrew has never been found guilty of anything. But the fact that he paid off the late Giuffre to the tune of many millions, and the fact that he obfuscated and, as we now know, lied to the British public on the BBC and chose to remain friends with a paedophile – all that and more add up to one almighty stink.

It’s time he accepted some responsibility. I know he’s used to hot and cold running staff, but Charles III is not Andrew’s butler. If he has any affection or respect for his family and for the monarchy, if he cares even in the slightest about protecting the legacy of his late mother, he would go without being pushed.

For once in his life, can’t he act like a grown-up instead of a spoilt man-baby? Hand back the keys to Royal Lodge and voluntarily take himself off somewhere away from the cameras where he – and the Duchess of York, if she so wishes – can live out their days in private.

Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell in a photograph published by the Mail on Sunday in 2011

No more guffawing at funerals, no more jostling to the front at photocalls, no more scowling through Windsor Great Park on horseback. Beat a dignified retreat, and maybe – just maybe – the public might retain a glimmer of residual respect for him.

It’s not just what’s right for the Royal Family, it’s also what’s right for Andrew. In fact, I would say it’s his only chance. Not just to be on the right side of history, but also to save his own skin. It’s the only chance of retaining what few remnants of his royal status he still has, of holding on those last glittering baubles.

Why? Because however bad things may seem for him now, they could yet get a whole lot worse.

If the Andrew situation isn’t resolved while his kind, rather gentle, indulgent and thoughtful brother is in charge, it will have to be resolved under King Charles’s successor.

I can’t say for certain, of course, but I don’t imagine Prince William – or for that matter, the Princess of Wales – has much time for friends and associates of known sex traffickers. And given that they have decided to make Windsor their ‘forever home’, are they really going to tolerate Bad Uncle Andrew living it up next door?

They will want to put some serious distance between themselves and this whole stink, and that might not bode well for the Duke, especially if his brother is no longer around to shield him. Who knows what Prince William will do. Perhaps the Tower isn’t such a far-fetched idea after all.

If he reaches a voluntary agreement with Charles in the meantime, Andrew can retain some degree of control. Maybe he can live out his days in a comfortable corner of one of the remoter royal estates; maybe he can attend the odd family gathering on the quiet, provided there’s a suitably discreet side entrance on offer.

Of course, all this requires a degree of self-knowledge and humility on Andrew’s part – two traits he sorely lacks. But perhaps those around him can bring some pressure to bear. Either that, or they could just send Princess Anne to do the job.

Fundamentally, though, Andrew must understand that for him, the game is finally up. He has disgraced himself to the point where his very existence has become a liability to the Royal Family. For a long while his doting mother protected him from the consequences of his mistakes. But sadly, she is no more. He has to go.

He can either do so graciously of his own volition, and salvage something from the wreck of his charmed life; or he can continue to pretend none of this matters, that he’s done nothing wrong, that it’s all just an unjustified vendetta.

He can either carry on acting like the arrogant, deluded toff he’s been all his life, or take a long hard look in the mirror, and make the right choice for once.

Go on, Sir. Surprise us all.