King Charles Privately ‘Trying to Prevent’ Authorities ‘From Doing Their Job’ Amid Andrew Probe

King Charles bestowed a royal honor on brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s longtime private secretary, a material witness in the criminal investigation into the former prince’s dealings with sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein — and sources say the suspicious decision points to a royal plot to sabotage the police probe and protect the $30 billion monarchy.

Charlotte Manley, 68, who worked with Andrew from 1996 to 2003 during his heyday with now-dead pedophile Epstein, was recently made a Dame Commander of the Royal Victorian Order at a Windsor Castle ceremony, People reported.

Now, critics are calling the move a “cover-up” as Manley’s prestigious honor came weeks after it became known that she’s scheduled to be interrogated by police investigating whether Andrew sold state secrets to financier Epstein while serving as the U.K.’s trade envoy. Andrew has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.

When a U.K. reporter asked about her upcoming chat with police, Manley, who also served as Andrew’s treasurer from 2001 to 2003, defensively blurted out, per The Times, “I would rather talk to the police than the press, not that I would have much to tell them.”

Insiders tell Globe that royal staffers have also been told to keep their mouths shut since Andrew’s dramatic arrest on Feb. 19.

The former Duke of York was collared, but not charged, after a trove of emails, documents and photographs released by the U.S. Department of Justice appeared to expose his alleged kickback scheme with Epstein and his rumored romps with hookers and barely legal gals during his globetrotting envoy days, during which he was supposed to be promoting British business interests abroad.

“Many who work in the royal household have been reminded about their pensions — in other words, they would be cut off if they cooperated with the police,” a royal insider tells Globe. “It’s basically blackmail. Publicly, King Charles is supporting the police investigation into his brother’s activities, but privately he’s trying to prevent them from doing their job.

“Everything they do is to try to protect the monarchy.”

Former Royal Navy officer Manley knows where the bones are buried, sources say, and in 2000, she allegedly signed a $100 Buckingham Palace check on Andrew’s behalf for a massage arranged by Ghislane Maxwell, who is serving 20 years in a Texas penitentiary for facilitating Epstein’s international sex-trafficking operation.

Meanwhile, the Crown Prosecution Service — the U.K. equivalent to America’s U.S. Attorney’s Office — is now advising two separate police departments as they investigate Andrew, 66, and Lord Peter Mandelson — a 72-year-old former diplomat and Epstein pal also in hot water for allegedly revealing British trade secrets, according to The Mirror.

“There’s obviously some sort of cover-up happening, and the palace is trying to contain anyone who knows Andrew so that they don’t go rogue and say something they shouldn’t,” a second source notes.

The insider adds this is not the first time the royal family has handed out the sought-after Royal Victorian Order to loyalists who do their secret bidding.

In 2023, Jason Knauf, the palace aide who blew the whistle on Duchess Meghan’s alleged bullying of staffers, all of which she denied, was made a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order by Meghan’s brother-in-law, Prince William.

Knauf, Meghan’s former press secretary while she lived in the U.K., had earlier filed a complaint alleging Prince Harry’s wife harangued female employees “to the point of tears” and tormented two personal assistants who fled their positions in the royal household.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if William was at the forefront of the campaign against Meghan because he’s let it be known that he didn’t like her from the start, and the family doesn’t like her,” the source says.

However, royal insiders say the stakes are exponentially higher with Andrew since many believe his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, turned a blind eye to her adored son’s bad behavior.

“Charles is shaking in his boots that all this information is coming out about Andrew, the Firm and his mother’s inaction, and he cannot escape from that reality,” the source tells Globe, referring to the investigation.

“All this is just a cover-up because the king must protect the throne.”