Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor released under investigation after arrest – live
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor released from police station
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been seen leaving a police station in a car after almost 12 hours of questioning by police in Norfolk.
He was photographed in the back seat leaving Aylsham Police station on Thursday evening.
Andrew was arrested this morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Police have not given any further information at this point.
Key events
The National Police Chiefs’ Council has given this statement:
In line with routine practice, the National Police Chiefs’ Council alerted operational colleagues within the Home Office of the arrest.
This gave 30 minutes’ notice before Thames Valley Police made the arrest.
The BBC earlier reported that the Home Office was given advance notice from Thames Valley Police of Andrew’s arrest.
Shrai Popat
Further to that, over in the US the top Democrat on the House oversight committee, Robert Garcia, earlier called Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest “an enormous step forward in our fight to secure justice” for Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors.
In November, oversight Democrats called for the former prince to sit for questioning as part of their ongoing investigation into the handling of the Epstein case. “Britain is now holding him accountable with this arrest. Now it’s time for the United States to end this White House cover-up,” Garcia said in a statement.
Other Democratic members of Congress welcomed the news of Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, and how it might impact accountability stateside.
“Even princes are not above the law,” said congressman Ro Khanna, who led the effort to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act. “But why isn’t more being done here? We should start with Howard Lutnick resigning,” he added, referring to Donald Trump’s commerce secretary – who admitted that he visited Epstein on his private island in 2012, four years after the disgraced financier was convicted on state charges of soliciting prostitution. This, despite Lutnick’s claims that he was no longer in touch with Epstein after 2005.
Trump calls Andrew’s arrest ‘a very sad thing’
Donald Trump has given his reaction to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest in the past hour telling reporters on Air Force One:
I’m the expert in a way because I’ve been totally exonerated so I can speak about it …
I think it’s a shame. I think it’s very sad. I think it’s so bad for the royal family. It’s very, very sad. To me, it’s a very sad thing. When I see that, it’s a very sad thing …
To see that and to see everything that’s going on with his brother, who is coming to our country very soon, the king … so I think it’s a very sad thing.
King Charles is due to visit the US in April.
Speaking about himself, Trump repeated that he is the one that “can talk about it” because he is “totally exonerated”. He added:
I did nothing.
Mountbatten-Windsor was pictured leaving police custody earlier this evening after he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
His arrest follows the US justice department’s release of millions of files related to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which revealed that Mountbatten-Windsor allegedly shared confidential information with Epstein during his time as a British trade envoy.
‘Today is just the beginning’: First known Epstein survivor speaks on Andrew’s arrest
Maria Farmer, the first known survivor to report Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell to law enforcement, has issued a statement in response to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Today is just the beginning of accountability and justice brought forth by Virginia Roberts Giuffre — a young mother who adored her daughter so deeply, she fought the most powerful on earth to protect her.
She did this for everyone’s daughters. Let’s now demand all the dominos of power and corruption begin to fall.
Sinéad Campbell
The news of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest on Thursday morning may come as surprise to many but the British royal family has long been mired by controversy. From illegal gambling, motoring offences and even execution, these are just a handful of the many royal run-ins with the law.
Charles I
The last time a member of the British royal family was arrested was more than 350 years ago. Charles I was taken prisoner in 1647, after his defeat in the English civil war by parliamentary forces. The monarch was a firm believer in the divine right of kings and led a tyrannical reign, refusing to recognise the authority of parliament when it came to matters of governance and religious practices in England and Scotland. He was put on trial and found guilty of high treason, charges which he denied by claiming that no court had jurisdiction over the monarch’s God-given power.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been pictured being driven home to the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. He was arrested earlier today on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations he sent confidential government documents to Jeffrey Epstein.
He was arrested on his 66th birthday following allegations that he shared reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore with the late convicted sex offender and disgraced financier.
He has denied any wrongdoing over his links to Epstein, but has not directly responded to the latest allegations.
After serving for 22 years in the Royal Navy, Andrew became the UK’s special representative for international trade and investment in 2001.
He stepped down in 2011 amid the furore over his friendship with Epstein.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor ‘released under investigation’, police say
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been released under investigation following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, Thames Valley police said.
The force said in a statement: “Thames Valley Police is able to provide an update in relation to an investigation into the offence of misconduct in public office.
“On Thursday we arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of
misconduct in public office. The arrested man has now been released
under investigation.
“We can also confirm that our searches in Norfolk have now concluded.”
Police searches at his former address, the Royal Lodge in Windsor, Berkshire, are ongoing.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor released from police station
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been seen leaving a police station in a car after almost 12 hours of questioning by police in Norfolk.
He was photographed in the back seat leaving Aylsham Police station on Thursday evening.
Andrew was arrested this morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Police have not given any further information at this point.
Virginia Giuffre’s brother and sister-in-law told the BBC’s Newsnight they “celebrated” upon hearing that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Giuffre, who took her own life in April 2025 aged 41, previously alleged Mountbatten-Windsor had sex with her three times as a teenager.
Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied the claim and reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre in 2022 which contained no admission of liability or apology.
Amanda Roberts, who is married to Giuffre’s brother Sky Roberts, told the BBC: “We are hopeful that this investigation now starts to open up that further probe into the sexual assault allegations… it is still a win.”
Sky Roberts also told Newsnight he would “continue to commend” the King “for the actions he’s taken”.
“It doesn’t matter your wealth or your power, you don’t have a separate set of laws that applies to you… I think we’re seeing that in the UK right now.”
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor could testify remotely in the US Congress Epstein investigation, according to a Democrat who has led calls for the former duke to face questions under oath about his relationship with the disgraced financier.
Suhas Subramanyam, a member of the US House’s oversight committee, told Sky News: “He can testify remotely. He can testify in person in the UK.”
Subramanyam added: “You know, we are going to New York to meet with the Clintons, for instance.
“We just came from Ohio to meet with [billionaire retail mogul] Les Wexner. And the entire committee doesn’t have to come. You can be certain members who are interested in that particular witness.”
Why has the police said so little about the arrest?
Rajeev Syal
Following a suspect’s arrest, police in England and Wales limit the information they release to the public under guidance which is meant to ensure a fair trial and protect a suspect’s privacy.
While forces rarely formally name an arrested person, they often confirm through back channels their identity, especially if it is deemed to be in the public interest.
Under the College of Police’s national guidance, suspects should not be identified until they have been “charged” – when prosecutors decide that there is a case to answer.
This explains why Thames Valley police released a statement saying: “We have today (19/2) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk. The man remains in police custody at this time. We will not be naming the arrested man, as per national guidance.”
After arrest, a case is considered “active” under the Contempt of Court Act, a law which is meant to ensure that public statements or articles do not prejudice future legal proceedings.
Harriet Sherwood
It was shortly after 8am on Thursday when a small fleet of unmarked police cars drew up at Wood Farm on the king’s private Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
Plainclothes officers stepped out into the late winter drizzle and readied themselves for a historic act that the royal family might have been expecting and dreading for weeks. Inside the house, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was perhaps sitting down to a birthday breakfast.
On 19 February 1960 the Queen Elizabeth II gave birth to her third – and some say favourite and most indulged – child at Buckingham Palace. Exactly 66 years later, Andrew – no longer a prince, and ostracised by many members of his family – was about to face the ignominy of being arrested and taken into police custody.
It was, said Maj Gen Alastair Bruce, a historian and royal watcher for Sky News, the “most shocking day for the British crown, to have a former prince of the blood arrested”. The arrest was “about as critical as the institution could face”, he said.
Other commentators described the arrest as extraordinary, unprecedented, spectacular and a body blow.