King Charles III designated Monday that the British royal family will cooperate if police come to ask questions about his younger brother, the former Prince Andrew’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein.

“The King has made clear, in unprecedented words and actions, his deep concern at the allegations that continue to emerge about Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct,” a Buckingham Palace spokesman said in a statement. “While there are specific allegations that need to be addressed by Mr Mountbatten-Windsor, if we are approached by Thames Valley Police we are prepared to support them as you would expect.”

The royal family’s statement came after police forces for the region surrounding much of London confirmed they were evaluating information suggesting Mountbatten-Windsor shared classified government information with the late American financier and convicted pedophile while the then-prince was Britain’s trade envoy.

The information was reported to Thames Valley Police by the anti-monarchy group Republic, citing documents released by the US Department of Justice as part of the release of files relating to Epstein, who was convicted of soliciting sex from a minor and accused of trafficking children for sex. died by suicide in a prison cell in New York.

Police told CBS News that information in the report is being evaluated “in accordance with our established procedures” to determine whether a formal criminal investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor’s actions is warranted.

Mountbatten-Windsor was charged by the Republic with suspected misconduct in public office and breach of the Official Secrets Act – charges that carry a possible life sentence in Britain.

King Charles has taken a series of measures to punish and isolate his younger brother since details of Mountbatten-Windsor’s close ties to Epstein first emerged last year, including stripping him of all his royal titles and duties and kicking him out of his royal mansion at Windsor Estate near London.

New information about Andrew in the Epstein files

While the previous accusations mostly related to the former prince’s alleged encounters with young women in relation to Epstein, the Republic’s accusations focus on his actions as a British trade official.

Emails among millions documents published On January 30, the US Department of Justice revealed that the former prince passed on classified reports about his visits as the UK’s official trade envoy to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam, including details of investment opportunities.

One the email thread shows that after a trip to Asia on November 30, 2010, Mountbatten-Windsor forwarded the official reports on his visits, sent to him by his then special adviser Amit Patel, to Epstein, just minutes after he received them. There was no message from the then-Prince to Epstein accompanying the forwarded message.

More email exchange between the men, the following month, appears to show a Mountbatten-Windsor exchange of files he describes as a “confidential summary” of potential investment opportunities in southern Afghanistan where British forces were stationed at the time.

Then-Prince Andrew said he was sharing the documents with Epstein to seek his “comments, views or ideas about who I could usefully show it to in order to attract some interest” in the opportunities described in the summary.

The charges echo similar revelations from the latest tranche of the Epstein files that suggest former British ambassador to the United States Peter Mandelson shared classified government information with the late American financier. London Metropolitan Police confirmed the investigation in his actions earlier this month.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s decision to select Mandelson for a key diplomatic post brought great pressure on the British leader to resignalthough following the resignation of his chief of staff on Sunday and at a meeting with his cabinet on Monday, it appeared that Starmer would hold on to his job, at least for now.

Prince William and Kate “deeply concerned”

Mountbatten-Windsor’s behavior with young women, as documented in Epstein-related files released last year by the US Department of Justice and the US Congress, has not drawn any criminal charges, and the former prince has always denied any wrongdoing.

However, photos of him with women continued to appear in the files after his move in 2022 settle out of court with Epstein survivor Virginia Guiffrereportedly for millions of dollars, keeping intense pressure on the royal family. Guiffre died by suicide last year.

In a statement released on Monday, King Charles’ first son Prince William and his wife Catherine, Prince and Princess of Wales, said they were “deeply concerned by the continuing revelations” about Mountbatten-Windsor and “their thoughts remain with the victims”.

It was the first public comment of the British heir to the throne on the scandal surrounding his uncle’s actions.