“No one is above the law,” police commissioner Dame Cressida Dick told LBC regarding the lawsuit brought against Prince Andrew by Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Dick defended two previous reviews that declined to open a criminal probe against the prince in relation to crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein, but the Metropolitan police will conduct its third review in light of the lawsuit.

Dick doesn’t appear terribly enthusiastic about the prospect of a criminal investigation of the Queen’s son, but even less so about leaving the impression that royals are off limits when it comes to enforcing the law:

Asked about the allegations against the prince on LBC radio, Dick said: “I’m not going to talk about individuals, but what I can say is that I think what you’re referring to is associated with Jeffrey Epstein, who I will talk about since he is deceased. And the position there is that we have had more than one allegation that is connected with Mr Epstein and we have reviewed those, assessed those, and we have not opened an investigation.”

She added that police had previously considered “is there evidence of a crime, is this the right jurisdiction for this to be dealt with, and is the person against whom the crime is alleged still alive? We have concluded that there is no investigation for us to open and we haven’t [opened one].” Dick added that she believed it was the “right decision” after advice from the Crown Prosecution Service and two reviews.

But, she said: “I’m aware that currently there is a lot more commentary in the media and an apparent civil court case going on in America and we will, of course, again review our position … But, at the moment, there is no investigation.”

Asked about the duke’s position, the Met police chief said: “No one is above the law.” She said the force was “open to working with authorities from overseas”, adding: “As a result of what’s going on, I’ve asked my team to have another look at the material.”

Even without a Met investigation, the lawsuit itself has had an impact at Buckingham Palace. A palace source told the Times of London that Prince Charles has decided that his brother can have no public role ever again, as the Epstein allegations simply will never disappear. The entire predicament is “unsolvable,” according to the source:

Charles “loves his brother and has the ability to have sympathy for the slings and arrows that his brother endures,” a source close to the Prince of Wales told the Times of London.

“However, this will be unwelcome reputational damage to the institution,” the source insisted of the latest bombshells.

“He has long ago concluded that it is probably an unsolvable problem,” the sources close to Charles said of the 72-year-old heir to the throne.

“This will probably further strengthen in the prince’s mind that a way back for the duke is demonstrably not possible, because the specter of this [accusation] raises its head with hideous regularity,” the source insisted.

Too bad Andrew didn’t take that advice before his attempt to rehabilitate his reputation in that disastrous BBC interview. That practically dared Giuffre to respond, and now that she has, Andrew’s reputation might no longer be the top of his worries. He would have been better advised to reach a quiet settlement with Giuffre and refrain from discussing the Epstein case at all in public. It’s far too late for that now, thanks to Andrew’s own bumbling.

I’d still bet against any criminal investigation targeting Andrew. The lawsuit allows the Metropolitan police to suggest that Giuffre can seek justice through other means, which would let Dick and the police off the hook a third time. Meanwhile, this reflects badly on everyone, especially Windsor Inc.