Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, younger brother of King Charles III, leaves Aylsham Police Station on Thursday after his arrest.Phil Noble/Reuters
He used to be a prince who was addressed as “His Royal Highness.” But Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will be better known now as the first royal sibling to be arrested in nearly 500 years and the biggest name yet to face police questioning amid revelations about his ties to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest came early on Thursday – his 66th birthday – when officers from Thames Valley Police raided his home on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. He’d only just moved into a five-bedroom farmhouse on the property a couple of weeks ago, having been evicted by his brother King Charles III from the far more spacious Royal Lodge at Windsor Castle.
In a statement, police said the former prince, who is eighth in line to the throne, had been taken into custody on “suspicion of misconduct in public office.” No charges have been laid, and Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor was released after spending most of the day in custody. He has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
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He’s the first senior royal to be arrested in modern history and the first sibling of a monarch to be hauled away by police since Lady Elizabeth was sent to the Tower of London in 1554 by her half-sister Queen Mary I over allegations the young royal had participated in a failed rebellion. Elizabeth would later reign for 44 years as Queen Elizabeth I.
The last senior royal to be arrested was King Charles I, who was detained in 1647 during the English Civil War by forces loyal to Parliament. He was tried for treason and executed.
“Historically, of course you’ve had kings and senior royals shut in the Tower of London, or executed or whatever. What you didn’t have was them being treated as Andrew quite rightly is,” said Sarah Gristwood, an author and royal commentator.
Ms. Gristwood said the arrest was certain to cause “long-term, invidious, insidious damage” to the Royal Family and it will likely raise questions about why Queen Elizabeth II didn’t do more to address her son’s failings.
“For all the enormous respect in which we all held and hold the former Queen Elizabeth, there may be a feeling that perhaps someone could have acted sooner,” she said. However, Ms. Gristwood doubted that the arrest would threaten the future of the monarchy.
The Thames Valley Police, an agency that covers areas west of London, including Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home, said it was “assessing” reports that the former Prince Andrew sent trade reports to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in 2010. The assessment followed the release of millions of pages of documents connected to a U.S. investigation of Epstein.
The Associated Press
Peter Hunt, a former BBC royal correspondent, said it was a seismic moment for the Royal Family, and something they will be ill-prepared to handle. “They will have to answer questions about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and be held accountable, something which, up until now, has been an alien concept for them,” Mr. Hunt told the Press Association.
On Thursday, King Charles III tried to distance himself from his brother’s travails and carry on his duties by attending a fashion show.
“I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office,” the King said in a statement, which made no mention that they were brothers.
“What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation. Let me state clearly: The law must take its course,” he added.
Read King Charles III’s full statement about the arrest of his brother Andrew
The allegations against Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor stem from his long relationship with Mr. Epstein, who died in a New York prison in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex-trafficking charges.
He and Mr. Epstein were friends for more than a decade and revelations about the closeness of their ties had already cost Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor dearly. He’s faced allegations in a U.S. court that he joined Mr. Epstein in liaisons with teenaged girls, something he has steadfastly denied. (The lawsuit was settled out of court.) He’s also been stripped of his royal titles by King Charles and cast out of the Royal Household.
The recent release by the U.S. Department of Justice of millions of e-mails, text messages, photographs and other Epstein documents revealed more details about Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct.
The former Prince Andrew has been released after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The Thames Valley Police force said the former prince was released Thursday evening from a police station near his home in eastern England. He was released under investigation, meaning he has neither been charged nor exonerated.
The Associated Press
Thames Valley Police, who cover three counties west of London, have not provided details of their investigation. But it is believed to focus on whether the documents show that during his time as a British trade envoy, from 2001 to 2011, Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor gave sensitive government information to Mr. Epstein.
Many of the e-mails suggest that he and Mr. Epstein regularly discussed potential business ventures.
In one e-mail dated Dec. 24, 2010, Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor forwarded Mr. Epstein a copy of a brief on business opportunities in Afghanistan.
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“Attached is a confidential brief produced by the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Helmand Province for International Investment Opportunities,” Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor wrote. He added, “I am going to offer this elsewhere in my network (including Abu Dhabi) but would be very interested in your comments, views or ideas as to whom I could also usefully show this to attract some interest.”
In another e-mail sent Nov. 30, 2010, Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor forwarded government “visit reports” on trips he’d made to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam that contained confidential details of investment opportunities.
Former British prime minister Gordon Brown, who was in office when Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor served as an envoy, said Thursday that he has given police a five-page memorandum offering additional information from the Epstein files.
Images from an undated and redacted document released by the U.S. Department of Justice in January, show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor leaning over an unidentified person.Jon Elswick/The Associated Press
Several high-profile figures in the U.S., Norway, Belgium, Slovakia and France have also faced awkward questions about their ties to Mr. Epstein, and some have had to resign from senior positions. Criminal investigations are under way in Norway and France over allegations of corruption and fraud.
So far, no one has faced any legal accountability other than Mr. Epstein’s former partner, Ghislaine Maxwell, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the U.S. on charges of sex trafficking.
For now, Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor remains the most high-profile figure to be examined by police, and the probing could be far from over.
Eight other police forces across Britain have launched investigations into various aspects of Mr. Epstein’s actions, including whether women were trafficked through Stansted and other airports, all of which could pose more difficult questions for the former prince Andrew.