Anti-monarchy activists in Britain staged a protest inside Buckingham Palace on Monday to highlight what they said were "unanswered questions" about disgraced former prince Andrew's friendship with Jeffrey Epstein.
Demonstrators from the group Republic unfurled a large image of King Charles III's brother with convicted US sex offender Epstein in the palace's throne room alongside a second, smaller banner with the words "what did you know?"
The central London palace's state rooms -- the main reception chambers used by Charles and other working royals for various occasions -- are open to visitors on tours each year between early July and late September.
"Republic activists have taken questions about Andrew to the heart of the royal household, the symbolic home of the monarchy," Republic's chief executive Graham Smith said in a statement.
"We need full disclosure from the palace, and as they refuse to speak up the government must take action," he added, saying the issue "isn't going away".
"The monarchy survives on secrecy, and that secrecy has to stop."
The stunt came days after UK media reported that police probing sexual misconduct claims against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, linked to his Epstein ties, may travel to the United States to speak with the family of an accuser.
Thames Valley Police are believed to want to talk to the brother and sister-in-law of the late Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that she had been trafficked to have sex with Andrew in the UK when she was a teenager.
Mountbatten-Windsor settled a US civil lawsuit in 2022 brought by her while not admitting liability.
The police force -- which is responsible for the region comprising the royal Windsor estate, west of London, where the former Duke of York used to live -- arrested him in February following new revelations stemming from his Epstein ties.
He was released on bail, and has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Epstein died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
Thames Valley Police was initially probing alleged misconduct in public office, after accusations that Mountbatten-Windsor shared sensitive information with the disgraced American financier during his decade as UK trade envoy.
However in May, the force confirmed they were open to investigating sexual misconduct claims.
The allegations around Andrew, the second of the late queen Elizabeth II's three sons, have increased scrutiny of both the humiliated royal and the monarchy, including its finances.
The royal family has been increasingly dogged by the scandals in recent years, with Charles last year stripping his younger brother of his titles.
