British police on Thursday arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
It was the former Prince Andrew’s 66th birthday.
Thames Valley Police told the BBC they were searching properties in Berkshire and Norfolk. Unmarked police vehicles were seen at Sandringham, the king’s estate in Norfolk, where Mountbatten-Windsor has been living since he was stripped of his royal titles by the king late last year and kicked out of his former Berkshire home at Windsor.
The BBC said that uniformed police officers were seen inside the gates at Royal Lodge, the disgraced former prince’s former home in Windsor.
Andrew’s brother, King Charles III, said that police have his “full and wholehearted support and co-operation.” The king’s full statement, per The Guardian:
I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office. 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.
As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter. Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.
According to the Press Association, the king was not given advance warning of the arrest, The Guardian said.
The arrest was not related to allegations of sexual misconduct connected with his long history with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, the BBC said. Police have been investigating those allegations, along with others relating to his association with Epstein — including allegations that he may have shared confidential material with Epstein, who died in prison in 2019 awaiting trial on his sex trafficking operations.
Mountbatten-Windsor was the UK’s trade envoy from 2001 to 2011 with privileged access to senior government officials, sensitive information, and business around the globe.
With the release of millions of pages of documents from the Epstein investigation, Thames Valley police said that a formal investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor’s activities was opened.
Earlier in February, police said they were investigating an allegation that Epstein sent a woman to the United Kingdom to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor in 2010, when he was still a working royal.
Police did not name the man they arrested at Sandringham, per the UK’s strict rules about naming suspects.
“We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time,” Assistan Chief Constable Oliver Wright said.
Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s trafficking victims who said she was forced to have sex with the then-prince multiple times while she was still a minor, sued Mountbatten-Windsor in 2021, before she died from suicide last year. That suit was settled privately in 2022, although the former Duke of York did not admit any wrongdoing.
Giuffre’s family released a statement after news of the arrest., The Guardian said:
At last, today our broken hearts have been lifted with the news that no one is above the law – not even royalty.
On behalf of our sister, we extend our gratitude to the UK’s Thames Valley Police in their investigation and arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
He was never a prince. For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you.
Mountbatten-Windsor remains in custody in the early afternoon, The Guardian said.
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[Featured image: Police officers guard the entrance to the Royal estate in Sandringham, Thursday, February 19, 2026, after Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested by British police on suspicion of misconduct in public office. (AP Photo/Matthew Kemp). Inset: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in April 2025/AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File]
