LONDON – Former British royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of “misconduct in a public office” during his time as British trade envoy, police said.
A statement released Thursday morning did not name the former prince, who was stripped of his royal title over his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, but said searches were being carried out at “addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk.”
Thames Valley Police, which covers areas west of London, said only that a man in his 60s from Norfolk, east England, had been arrested and remanded in custody.
An unmarked police car was seen early Thursday morning in Sandringham, Norfolk, where Andrew has lived since leaving his home in Windsor.
Mr Andrew has consistently denied any wrongdoing related to his friendship with Mr Epstein, but concerns about Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to the late financier have plagued the royal family for more than a decade.
Last week, new revelations emerged that Mountbatten-Windsor had sent potentially confidential documents to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein while he was British trade envoy.
Earlier this month, Thames Valley Police confirmed they were “assessing” misconduct in the official charges against the former prince.
The force announced the move after the latest Epstein files revealed that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor may have passed potentially confidential reports to the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender while he was Britain’s trade envoy.
In response, King Charles III issued an unprecedented statement expressing “concern” over his brother’s actions and noting that Buckingham Palace was “ready to support” the police investigation.
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In the latest potentially damaging disclosure, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday that emails showed Mr Andrew had agreed to help negotiate an $8 billion cash-for-oil swap involving two foreign companies.
The banker, who worked closely with the former royal, exchanged multiple messages with Epstein about the scheme, which began while the financier was still under house arrest after being convicted in 2008 of soliciting sex from underage girls, the paper said.
In October, Charles III stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his royal title and ordered him to vacate Royal Lodge, his residence on the grounds of Windsor Castle.
The decision comes after years of controversy over the relationship between Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein. He stepped back from royal duties in 2019 following a damning BBC interview about his friendship with Epstein.
Mountbatten-Windsor has not been charged with any crime related to Epstein.
In 2022, then-Prince Andrew paid a settlement to Virginia Giuffre, who was accused of sexually abusing her when she was 17 years old. The amount of the settlement was not disclosed, but reports estimate it to be between £7.5 million and £12 million.
Mountbatten-Windsor denied wrongdoing, but in a joint statement announcing the settlement acknowledged Giuffre’s suffering as a victim of sex trafficking.
Ms Mountbatten-Windsor said she did not remember ever meeting Mr Giuffre, although there was a photo of him standing next to Mr Maxwell with his arm around her waist.
Giuffre died by suicide in April at the age of 41 on his farm in Western Australia. Her posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl, was published in October.
