It’s been quite the year for the Royal Family committing crimes. Prince Philip kicked off 2019 by crashing his car so badly that his Land Rover rolled and two women were hospitalised. He gave up his license and didn’t end up being charged. More recently though, we’ve seen the unfolding saga of Prince Andrew’s connections to Jeffrey Epstein, which involve allegations that Prince Andrew had sex with a minor that Epstein had trafficked.
So what happens if a member of the Royal family is involved in a crime?
First and foremost, there is only one person above the law in the UK: The Queen. Yep, Liz could go on a massive Grand Theft Auto style crime spree if she really wanted to and there would be absolutely nothing anybody could do about it.
The Royal family’s website points out that “the Queen is careful to ensure that all her activities in her personal capacity are carried out in strict accordance with the law,” but the point remains that she could absolutely rob you at gunpoint.
As for everybody else in the family, the law is a bit different. Members of the royal household can’t be arrested in civil proceedings, be arrested in the Queen’s presence, or be arrested in or near the palace. So if you stay inside the palace for the rest of your life, or make sure that you’re with the Queen wherever you go then you can technically evade the law forever.
But they can definitely be arrested.
The first and only Royal to get a criminal conviction is the Queen’s daughter, Princess Anne. She copped a speeding fine in 2001, and then plead guilty to an offence under Britain’s Dangerous Dogs Act in 2002. She was fined when her English bull terrier, Dotty, attacked two boys badly enough that they were taken to hospital.
Andrew’s case is a bit different. For one, sex with a trafficked minor is a lot more serious than a speeding fine, but also the crimes are alleged to have happened outside of the UK. Virginia Giuffre, the woman accusing Prince Andrew, says that of the three times they had sex, once was in London, once ws in New York, and once was on Epstein’s private island in the US Virgin Islands.
The USA and the UK have an extradition treaty that means any UK citizen – including Prince Andrew – can be sent to America and hauled in front of their courts if the authorities have as little as reasonable suspicion.
American law doesn’t have any special treatment for Royals. If worst came to worst and Andrew was put on trial and found guilty in a US court, he’d find himself in the same jail as everyone else.
Prince Andrew has said that he would be open to meeting with American authorities, but hasn’t made any moves to speak with them as far as we know. As with almost everything surrounding this case, we just have to wait and see what happens next.
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