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King Charles was in the midst of a Royal engagement when a member of the public shouted out a nine-word question about the ongoing Prince Andrew scandal. The man in the crowd asked, "how long have you known about Andrew and Epstein?" as Charles visited Lichfield Cathedral on Monday. The monarchy is feeling the heat as the controversy surrounding Andrew continues to escalate, with MPs keen to bring the issue to debate. According to the BBC, Andrew had hosted Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Harvey Weinstein at Royal Lodge, his rent-free private residence, prior to his daughter Princess Beatrice's 18th birthday masked ball at Windsor Castle in 2006. The BBC claims to have matched the trees and patio wall seen in a previously published photo of Epstein, Maxwell, and Weinstein to other images of Royal Lodge. Reports suggest that Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson have agreed to vacate the property in exchange for two separate residences. Charles's brother is reportedly in discussions with representatives about voluntarily leaving Royal Lodge following the uproar over the "peppercorn" rent for the 30-room mansion, where he has resided for over two decades. Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey is pushing for a select committee inquiry into how the Crown Estate, effectively Andrew's landlord, has "managed" support for the former duke. While visiting Lichfield Cathedral to spotlight local community and heritage skills, Charles found himself in an uncomfortable situation when a man, believed to be from the anti-monarchy group Republic, started shouting questions at him. In a video, presumably filmed by the protester himself, he can be heard asking: "How long have you known about Andrew and Epstein?" and then twice asks: "Have you asked the police to cover up for Andrew?", reports Cambridgeshire Live . Charles is seen greeting fans and waving as the man continues his barrage of questions, with one woman even turning around to tell him to "shut up". The protester concludes by asking: "Should MPs be allowed to debate the royals in the House of Commons?". Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, commented: "The royals need to be challenged, and if the politicians won't do the job and the police won't investigate, then more and more members of the public will be asking the tough questions. We want to see broadcasters invite Charles into a studio and ask him the same questions." Sir Ed shared his thoughts on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, stating: "I think, by disgracing his office, Prince Andrew has relinquished any rights to special treatment at the expense of the taxpayer, and Parliament are the guardians of the taxpayer. And what I think would be the best thing to happen is a select committee inquiry into how the Crown Estate has managed that support and that officials from the Crown Estate and Prince Andrew should come to give evidence. "The focus has been around the Royal Lodge which, as I understand it, is where the taxpayer may or may not have been supporting the prince. But we just need some more transparency about this... some more accountability. The best way to do that is a select committee inquiry." Liberal Democrat MP Tim Farron declared the Royal family "cannot be above scrutiny" and demanded Andrew appear before the Public Accounts Committee. Stating he did not anticipate the King would "take action", he told BBC Newsnight: "If we want to support the monarchy then Parliament needs to step in and take action, and that means Prince Andrew losing his titles." Andrew tried to put an end to years of scandal following claims that he sexually abused Virginia Giuffre, by relinquishing his dukedom and other honours before the publication of her posthumous memoirs earlier this month. However, the prince, who vehemently refutes the allegations, was instead overwhelmed by condemnation centred on the residence he has occupied essentially rent-free since 2003. The Government has thus far declined to set aside time in the House of Commons for MPs to debate Andrew's circumstances because the Royal family wishes Parliament to concentrate on "important issues". Nevertheless, the matter could be brought up on one of the days when ministers are not in charge of the parliamentary agenda.
