Members of Britain's royal family were met by anti-monarchy protesters Monday amid ongoing questions over the family's handling of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew.
King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William, and Kate, the Princess of Wales, were greeted by booing and chants of "Charles, what do you know?" as they arrived at Westminster Abbey for the annual Commonwealth Day service.
Just feet from where the royals entered the church, bright yellow signs from the anti-monarchy group Republic were visible with messages including "Not my king" and "Abolish the monarchy."
The royals did not address the protesters, instead smiling and looking ahead as they arrived and spoke with church officials.
The royal family has faced a growing chorus of calls for answers recently in regard to its handling of Andrew, the king's younger brother.
Andrew -- who goes by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after his "prince" title was stripped by Charles last year -- was arrested on Feb. 23 on suspicion of misconduct in public office stemming from his time as a U.K. trade envoy, a role in which he was responsible for promoting British business interests abroad.
The allegations stem from Mountbatten-Windsor's name showing up in the 3 million pages of documents related to the late Jeffrey Epstein -- who died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking minor girls -- released by the U.S. Department of Justice in January.
The former prince has repeatedly denied wrongdoing with respect to Epstein.
So far, the only member of the royal family to publicly speak about the controversy is Andrew and Charles' brother, Prince Edward.
When asked about the issue while speaking on a panel on education in Dubai on Feb. 3, Edward responded, "I think it's really important always to remember the victims, and who are the victims in all this -- a lot of victims in this."
Other members of the royal family have so far chosen to issue statements similarly focused on the victims.
"The King has made clear, in words and through unprecedented actions, his profound concern at allegations which continue to come to light in respect of Mr Mountbatten-Windsor's conduct. While the specific claims in question are for Mr Mountbatten-Windsor to address, if we are approached by Thames Valley Police we stand ready to support them as you would expect," a Buckingham Palace spokesperson said in a statement to ABC News on Feb. 9, referring to the U.K. police department assessing allegations about Andrew.
The spokesperson added, "As was previously stated, Their Majesties' thoughts and sympathies have been, and remain with, the victims of any and all forms of abuse."
That same day, Kensington Palace released its first-ever statement about Andrew on behalf of William and Kate, which read, "I can confirm The Prince and Princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims."
Graham Smith, CEO of Republic, the anti-monarchy group that organized Monday's protest, told ABC News that his organization believes William and Charles have "serious questions to answer about what they knew about Andrew.”
He said that in his 20 years leading Republic, public attitudes about the monarchy have "changed fundamentally," and that this current moment, amid ongoing fallout over Andrew, feels “transformative."
“The very fact that we are in a situation where people are demanding transparency is very dangerous for them. They’re in this situation where if they remain secretive, there is going to be a lot of questions. They're gonna lose a lot of support," Smith told ABC News' Maggie Rulli on Monday, in an interview outside Westminster Abbey. "If they stop being secretive and open up, they’ll probably lose even more support, because they have a lot of secrets hidden behind closed doors.“
ABC News' Charlotte Gardiner contributed to this report.
