A public walkabout by King Charles and Queen Camilla in an Essex village was interrupted on Thursday when a heckler shouted an apparent reference to the Jeffrey Epstein affair, directly questioning the monarch about his brother Prince Andrew.
Incident During Rainy Village Visit
The King and Queen were visiting the picturesque village of Dedham in Essex, holding umbrellas against the drizzle as they met crowds gathered behind metal barriers along the high street. The royal couple had earlier engaged with local groups inside The Sun Inn pub, where Camilla tried her hand at cutting ravioli pasta in the kitchen.
Direct Confrontation About Andrew
As the King approached one section of the crowd, a man wearing a grey hat and holding a blue umbrella shouted: "Charles, Charles, have you pressurised the police to start investigating Andrew?" The direct reference to the Duke of York and the ongoing Epstein controversy created a tense moment during what had been a casual village event.
Following the outburst, police officers immediately approached the man and escorted him away from the barriers. Shortly afterwards, a news reporter in the crowd apparently attempted to ask Charles a question about his brother, prompting royal aides to lead the King to the far side of the road to continue the walkabout away from the main crowds.
Community Reaction and Royal Activities
Despite the interruption, the royal visit continued with Charles and Camilla listening to a choir of schoolchildren in the street before briefly entering the Essex Rose Teahouse. There, the King unveiled a plaque and cut a cake, maintaining the scheduled programme of engagements.
Local resident Adrian Sharpe, a 62-year-old handyman from Dedham, described the event as "nice and casual really for a village event – obviously high security." Regarding the heckler, he commented: "I think it's pointless really as what Andrew's done is what Andrew's done, it's not what King Charles has done is it? He's his own person."
Background Context and Preparations
The incident occurred against a backdrop of heightened attention on Prince Andrew, who recently moved from Royal Lodge at Windsor to the King's Sandringham Estate. According to the East Anglian Daily Times, photographs of Andrew released in the Epstein files appeared to have been scattered around Dedham ahead of Thursday's royal visit.
These images were part of the latest batch of files released by the US Department of Justice relating to the late financier Jeffrey Epstein, with a video of the scattered printouts circulating on social media the day before the royal visit. Prince Andrew has consistently and strongly denied any wrongdoing in connection with the Epstein case.
Public Sentiment and Separation of Issues
Other spectators expressed their ability to separate the royal visit from the controversies surrounding Prince Andrew. Russell Townsend, a 67-year-old retired health and safety consultant from nearby Stratford St Mary, said: "I must admit today I didn't think of it really. I kind of see it as quite a separate issue really. I just think it is what it is and I can kind of separate the two."
His daughter Phoebe, 22, added: "I don't really follow that. I'm just here to see the King. If it was Prince Andrew maybe not, but the King's the King."
After completing their engagements, which included speaking to additional members of the public, the King and Queen departed Dedham in a Bentley, concluding a visit that blended traditional royal duties with contemporary controversies in a typically British village setting.
