Years after Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes first shocked the world, controversy over his ties to the British royal family has long loomed over the monarchy.Historians and investigators say the reason the story hasn’t faded is simple. Many questions remain unanswered about Epstein’s powerful ties, and key records that might shed light on them may no longer exist.Historian and royal biographer Andrew Looney says efforts to understand Epstein’s ties to the royal class have been repeatedly hampered by missing documents.“One of the problems with researching this area is that a lot of the material… once it gets into the hands of the British government, it’s destroyed,” Looney told The Daily Beast podcast host Joanna Coles.He added: “For example, the logs of Buckingham Palace, which people asked to see – at first – were withheld on national security grounds and then were told they had been destroyed.”The controversy is closely linked to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, whose long association with Epstein has become one of the most damaging scandals to hit the royal family in decades.But Looney argues that the story goes far beyond the royal scandal involving Epstein and the former Duke of York.“While this net was spread widely across so many different countries, my own feeling is that this is really a story about national security,” Lowney said.“How easy it is for the intelligence services to enter Britain using the royal family because they have no surveillance and some of them are very greedy.”According to Looney, the scope of the investigation is constantly expanding due to the continued release of documents and testimony related to Epstein’s network.“Each day brings new revelations, new connections,” he said.“I’ve definitely been getting a lot of people coming forward, especially in the last few weeks, with stories.”He believes it may take years for the full picture to emerge because authorities are examining the vast amount of material related to Epstein.“There’s obviously a lot of material in the Epstein files that I find quite conclusive about what he did,” he said.“But they may want to interrogate multiple people and it will take time to pursue that case.”The scandal has also sparked political debate about the Mountbatten-Windsors’ future position in the royal succession.Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney recently called for Epstein’s removal from the line of succession following allegations that he shared classified materials with him. Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested last month on suspicion of misconduct in public office.Andrew has previously denied wrongdoing in connection with Epstein and did not respond to requests for comment on the latest allegations.Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, Carney said the former royal’s actions were “reprehensible” and he should be removed from succession.“Even though it’s far down the line, the point of principle remains,” Carney said.In Britain, ministers have confirmed that the government is considering legislation to remove the Mountbatten-Windsors from the line of succession. Defense Minister Luke Pollard said the move would be “the right thing to do” regardless of the outcome of the police investigation.