Andrew, King Charles and Prince William (Image: Getty)

The dramatic arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor may seem a disaster for the Royal Family – but in the long-term it may not be so grave as it first seems. Ever since Andrew’s calamitous 2019 Newsnight interview with Emily Maitlis, it’s been reported Prince William was furious with his uncle for bringing shame on the institution that so many cherish.

Even back then the Prince of Wales wanted his clown-like uncle banished from The Firm for good, for bringing a “stain” on the wider family. Anyone viewing William’s frosty exchange with Andrew on the steps of Westminster Cathedral after the Duchess of Kent’s funeral last September could see there is no love lost between them.

After his brother’s Thursday morning arrest, King Charles said in a powerful statement: “I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office.

“What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities.

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“In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation. Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.”

Anti-monarchy group Republic have claimed this could be a watershed moment for the monarchy – yet the King’s friend and broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby suggests it could end up strengthening them.

Certainly King Charles’s swift action last October to unceremoniously wield the axe on Andrew’s titles and military honours looks decisive and prescient.

King Charles – both before his brother’s arrest and after – was quick to repeatedly refer to his brother as simply “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor” and distance The Firm from his sibling’s nightmarish, personal struggles.

William was not engaging with Andrew at Duchess of Kent’s funeral last autumn (Image: Getty)

The stain of US paedophile Jeffrey Epstein and his relationships with Andrew and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson has loomed like a shadow over the Royal Family for years.

That shadow has been increasingly engulfing the headlines ever since the US Department for Justice started releasing the millions of redacted documents from the Epstein Files.

If Prince William and King Charles can draw a clear line in the sand between Andrew and the Royal Family, they could certainly emerge from this scandal stronger.

Ironically this ongoing police probe into Andrew, and Andrew alone, could end up providing that vital line in the sand.

If they can put Epstein behind them by distancing the Royal Family from Andrew they could very well springboard on with a new generation of working royals to form a tighter, stronger and modern institution.

Andrew has repeatedly denied he has done anything wrong and his arrest in no way indicates any wrongdoing.

Whatever happens, will the police probe alone surgically ‘remove’ Andrew from the family? No. One more thing remains – the King can no longer shelter Andrew on his Sandringham Estate.

Charles has no option … he must tell Andrew to pack up again and leave.

He may have the skin of a rhino but even Andrew must accept he is more toxic than a Chernobyl reactor. For once he must do something selfless, and go.