When former Prince Andrew, now referred to as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was arrested by British police on Feb. 19, I momentarily felt a sense of relief. It felt as though this was the beginning of the end for Jeffrey Epstein’s closest companions, who likely either knew of his criminal activities and turned a blind eye, or were accessories to them. Then, with the arrest of Peter Mandelson, former U.K. Cabinet minister and U.K. Ambassador to the United States, just days later, the potential for real accountability and change felt even more probable.
Two major political elites were arrested in Britain for their association with Jeffrey Epstein. To illustrate how shocking this was, particularly regarding Mountbatten-Windsor, the last time a royal family member, current or former, was arrested was in the 1640’s– nearly 400 years ago. Given such a statistic, it seems almost inevitable that this moment would introduce a fracture in reality, where business and political elites around the world would finally be condemned for actions that they have so long been able to get away with.
This is when reality started to sink in, and the questions became abundant: what could the British government indict either of these individuals for? Could this possibly have any implications for the elites of the United States who were involved? Does this mean anything tangible aside from its symbolism?
The answers to these questions are currently ambiguous. Most academics are not particularly convinced that the arrest of two high-profile political elites will actually result in anything and, if it does, it is unclear whether the U.S. will ever hold its own politicians and businessmen liable for their positions.
My takeaway from this news is this: the United States does not respect women. It never has, and it never will.
The jump from one point to the next seems large, but it is true.
The United States prides itself on being the greatest country in the world, yet it regularly fails to consider the female experience. For many women, the current political state is scary. In 2022, the Dobbs v. Jackson decision overturned a nearly 50-year precedent that protected a woman’s right to privacy and bodily autonomy. Then, just two years later, a man with at least 25 sexual assault allegations was re-elected to the presidency. Now, in 2026, it is becoming increasingly clear that the elites who are in control of exorbitant amounts of wealth and power in the U.S. are actually likely behind a variety of disgusting criminal activities in connection with another incredibly powerful individual, Jeffrey Epstein. The conglomeration of all of these disgusting events – as well as those before, in between and after – depicts a country that puts women second, maybe not even.
To put it in plain terms, I want to rip my hair out and scream.
Why does no one care? If sexual assault allegations could “ruin a man’s life,” why does our president have more than 25 of them? Why did the United States elect an unqualified, bigoted buffoon over a highly qualified and professional woman? Will our cries for help ever hold any sort of weight? Will anything we say even matter if it is said about a white man?
All of this is to say, the arrests of Mandelson and Mountbatten-Windsor mean nothing to me right now– I won’t hold my breath waiting for them to be prosecuted and I certainly won’t hold my breath waiting for Donald Trump or Bill Clinton, among many others, to be arrested. But I am identifying a pattern that powerful men can get away with horrible things and I know that other women feel this rage, too. I know that other women are also waiting patiently for their cries to mean something.
I wonder if waiting is enough…