BREAKING NEWSKing Charles greets crowds during visit to Lancashire

King Charles III was heckled again today over his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to Jeffrey Epstein while meeting members of the public in Lancashire.

The monarch was meeting well-wishers outside Clitheroe railway station when one man shouted: ‘Charles, how long have you known about Andrew and Epstein?’

Boos were then heard from other members of the crowd as well as shouts of ‘Shut up’ and ‘Kick him out’, before they began to cheer as the heckler was removed.

The visit follows Charles being questioned by journalists and heckled about Epstein during an official visit to Dedham in Essex with Queen Camilla last Thursday.

The monarch’s arrival in Clitheroe came less than two hours after Kensington Palace said the Prince and Princess of Wales have been ‘deeply concerned’ by the ongoing revelations from the Jeffrey Epstein scandal involving Andrew.

Much of the work of the Royal Family in recent weeks has been overshadowed by the ongoing Epstein scandal, reignited when a huge tranche of millions of documents associated with Epstein were released by US authorities on January 30.

These sparked a string of allegations against the King’s brother and have led to police launching a probe into Peter Mandelson over alleged misconduct in public office.

Among the claims are that a second woman was sent to the UK by paedophile Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew, and also that the former prince and Epstein asked an exotic dancer for a threesome in Epstein’s Florida home.

The latest allegation is that Andrew shared confidential reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Singapore in his role as the UK’s trade envoy.

The former duke, stripped of his titles by the King last year, has always denied any wrongdoing and last week he finally left Royal Lodge for the Sandringham estate.

King Charles III meets well-wishers as he arrives in Clitheroe for a visit to Lancashire today

King Charles III is greeted by The Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire, Amanda Parker, today

King Charles III meets well-wishers as he arrives in Clitheroe for a visit to Lancashire today

King Charles III meets ‘Gloria’ the corgi as he speaks with well-wishers in Clitheroe today

King Charles III meets well-wishers as he arrives in Clitheroe for a visit to Lancashire today

King Charles III arrives at Clitheroe railway station in Lancashire this morning

Members of the public wait to meet King Charles III at Clitheroe station in Lancashire today

King Charles III meets well-wishers as he arrives in Clitheroe for a visit to Lancashire today

King Charles III is greeted by The Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire, Amanda Parker, today

King Charles III meets ‘Gloria’ the corgi as he speaks with well-wishers in Clitheroe today

King Charles III is greeted by The Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire, Amanda Parker, today

The Royal Train, carrying King Charles III, arrives at Clitheroe train station this morning

King Charles III arrives at Clitheroe railway station in Lancashire this morning

Ahead of William’s visit to Saudi Arabia today, a Kensington Palace spokesperson said: ‘I can confirm that the Prince and Princess of Wales have been deeply concerned by the continued revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims.’

It was the first time the views of William and Kate have been known about the crisis that has engulfed the monarchy and Westminster.

The prince is en route to Saudi Arabia for the start of a three-day tour of the Middle East country, spending his first day with the Saudi ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

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The King was in Lancashire today to meet farmers and local business owners this morning.

He arrived by royal train, which will be decommissioned next year due to the cost of maintenance and need for modernisation. Its most recent carriages were last updated in the 1980s.

Pupils from Clitheroe St James’s, Sabden primary and Barrow primary waved flags and shouted, ‘It’s the King’, as his train arrived.

He was then greeted by Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire, Amanda Parker, at the station, before meeting members of the public outside.

The Slaidburn silver band played a welcome as he accepted gifts and shook hands.

The arrival in Clitheroe marked Charles’s second visit to Lancashire as monarch, following a trip to Lancaster in June.

He previously visited Clitheroe as the Prince of Wales in 2017 for a food festival.

King Charles III meets ‘Gloria’ the corgi as he speaks with well-wishers in Clitheroe today

King Charles III meets well-wishers as he arrives in Clitheroe for a visit to Lancashire today

Members of the public wait to meet King Charles III at Clitheroe station in Lancashire today

King Charles III is greeted by The Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire, Amanda Parker, today

King Charles III arrives at Clitheroe railway station in Lancashire this morning

King Charles III is greeted by The Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire, Amanda Parker, today

Members of the public wait to meet King Charles III at Clitheroe station in Lancashire today

King Charles III is greeted by The Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire, Amanda Parker, today

King Charles III meets ‘Gloria’ the corgi as he speaks with well-wishers in Clitheroe today

King Charles III arrives at Clitheroe railway station in Lancashire this morning

Christine Dilworth, 66, a pub owner from Pendleton, gave some daffodils to the King.

She described herself as a big fan of the Royal Family who had welcomed Charles last time he came to Clitheroe.

‘He’s now our King and I think they do a fantastic job for the country, they work tirelessly and the revenue which they bring in,’ she said.

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On the heckling, Ms Dilworth said: ‘I think people should put that behind them.

‘The last thing I want is someone coming out with something they don’t need to come out with and spoiling it for other people.’

Meanwhile the King is now facing growing calls to issue an official apology after fresh allegations that Epstein facilitated sexual encounters for the then Andrew at royal residences.

Victims of the paedophile financier said the monarch needed to take accountability for the ‘organisation’s failings’ and should also apologise to the family of Andrew’s late accuser Virginia Giuffre.

Buckingham Palace has never acknowledged wrongdoing or formally apologised over Andrew’s relationship with the Epstein.

It has been accused of delivering nothing more than ‘lip service’ in statements about the scandal.

Now lawyers for a second woman who claims Epstein sent her to the UK for a sexual encounter with Andrew at Royal Lodge in 2010 have urged King Charles to issue a ‘real apology’.

Brad Edwards, from US law firm Edwards Henderson, said: ‘To the King I would say: why not at least listen to the details of the story?

King Charles III arrives at Clitheroe railway station in Lancashire this morning

King Charles III meets ‘Gloria’ the corgi as he speaks with well-wishers in Clitheroe today

King Charles III arrives at Clitheroe railway station in Lancashire this morning

King Charles III meets well-wishers as he arrives in Clitheroe for a visit to Lancashire today

King Charles III is greeted by The Lord-Lieutenant of Lancashire, Amanda Parker, today

King Charles III arrives at Clitheroe railway station in Lancashire this morning

‘After that issue a sincere, real apology on behalf of Andrew and any role played by the Royal Family. That world was only possible because Andrew was who he was.’

He added that the victims wanted ‘a real apology – not just lip service’.

Epstein survivor Marijke Chartouni told the Daily Mail: ‘The Royal Family is a carefully-managed endeavour and so claiming ignorance to Andrew’s activities is absurd. It’s time for the King to address his organisation’s failings.’

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Another survivor, Maria Farmer, said it was ‘shocking the royals have still not issued an apology’ to the family of Ms Giuffre, who died by suicide last year after insisting she had sex with Andrew on three occasions aged 17.

Last October, the King stripped Andrew of all his remaining titles – most notably that of his birthright of prince – and forced him out of his Windsor home Royal Lodge.

It was made clear at the time the decision had been made due to serious and prolific lapses in Andrew’s judgment, despite him continuing to vehemently deny the allegations against him.

Notably both the King and his wife made a point of saying ‘their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse’.

It was the first time any such expression had been issued by the palace and came directly from Charles and Camilla.

Last week, Prince Edward became the first royal to comment on the latest Epstein files, saying it is ‘really important to remember the victims’.

King Charles III meets ‘Gloria’ the corgi as he speaks with well-wishers in Clitheroe today

King Charles III arrives at Clitheroe railway station in Lancashire this morning

King Charles III meets ‘Gloria’ the corgi as he speaks with well-wishers in Clitheroe today

King Charles III arrives at Clitheroe railway station in Lancashire this morning

King Charles III meets ‘Gloria’ the corgi as he speaks with well-wishers in Clitheroe today

King Charles III arrives at Clitheroe railway station in Lancashire this morning

Members of the public wait to meet King Charles III at Clitheroe station in Lancashire today

King Charles III arrives at Clitheroe railway station in Lancashire this morning

A royal source told the Daily Mail last night: ‘Their Majesties’ thoughts and sympathies have been and remain with the victims of any and all forms of abuse, as remains the case today.’

It comes amid renewed calls for a criminal investigation as disturbing new details about Andrew’s activities continue to emerge in the latest tranche of three million documents released in the Epstein files by the US Department of Justice.

Emails appear to reveal that Epstein took a ‘very cute’ Romanian model to meet Andrew at Buckingham Palace in 2010.

The latest disclosures also raise serious questions about what Andrew’s courtiers and personal protection officers knew of his activities.

Emails show that two officers stayed with Andrew during a nine-day visit to Epstein’s New York home in 2010.

Speaking to Times Radio, the Met’s former head of royal protection Dai Davies said it was ‘incredibly damaging for the Metropolitan Police’ that it had failed to launch an investigation over the years. ‘I think it’s scandalous.’

Thames Valley Police said it is assessing the new allegations following the reports alleging a woman was ‘taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes’.