Michael D. Shear

Her face is blacked out, so you can't see who it is.

And it's hard to tell whether she was conscious or not.

But that photo...

like the first one so many years earlier, really has crystallized the sense of outrage over this idea that he was inappropriate with young women.

And it led for the first time to the king actually putting out a statement that directly commented on

Andrew's behavior.

It expressed what the king said was profound concern at the allegations, which continue to come to light.

And very importantly, said that if he is approached by the police, that, quote, we stand ready to support them as you would expect.

It really was, I think, the first moment that the prospect of some kind of criminal punishment was

for Andrew seemed more possible given the fact that the king was sort of opening the door to that idea.

Legally, no.

There's no question that the police can investigate and they have the power to arrest who they want to arrest.

But I think from the public relations perspective, after years in which the family seemed very much to be trying to protect Andrew, the fact that the king had promised to help the police if they came to him, that was significant.

Look, I think that is one of the big questions.

Why haven't police in Britain, but also in the United States, why haven't they been more aggressive in looking into the allegations and ultimately taking action?

And I think part of the answer might be that despite the allegations that have been out there, the thing that has become really powerful is less evidence.

the sort of raw evidence and more the publication of that evidence and the pressure that has come from that on prosecutors, on the royal family, has really sort of been the thing that has driven the case forward more than the actual investigations from the authorities.

Yes, absolutely.

I mean, you have to think about it this way.

The last time that a sitting member of the British royal family was arrested was in 1649, almost 400 years ago.