Ex-prince Andrew went from war pilot to royal pariah

His mother was Queen Elizabeth II. He is said to be Elizabeth’s favourite, but the former Prince Andrew has long been a headache for the British royal family.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on Thursday, his 66th birthday, on suspicion of misconduct in public office as part of an investigation stemming from his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. She is the first senior British royal to be detained by police in modern history.

He was born a prince in 1960, the second child of the queen and her husband, Prince Philip. His older brother Charles would ascend to the throne. Andrew followed a tried-and-tested path for young royal sons: military service.

Following 22 years in the Royal Navy, including combat operations as a helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands War, Andrew was named Britain’s special representative for international trade and investment in 2001.

The current police investigation dates back to that period. This follows documents from the recently released Epstein files that suggest Andrew passed official government documents to the late financier while he was a trade envoy. The former prince was not accused of any crime. He has long denied any wrongdoing regarding his Epstein connections.

Mountbatten-Windsor was forced to resign from her commercial position in 2011 amid growing concerns about her friendship with Epstein, who was sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 after pleading guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution.

The man who once attracted media attention for his love life, dubbed “Randy Andy” by the tabloids, regularly made headlines for his money troubles and his connections to questionable characters, including American financier and convicted sex offender Epstein.

After Epstein was arrested again in 2019, Andrew gave a devastating interview to the BBC’s Newsnight program in which he attempted to explain his connections to Epstein. This backfired; He was widely criticized for making incredible statements and showing no empathy for Epstein’s victims.

Amid the backlash, Andrew announced on November 20, 2019 that he was giving up public duties and charity work “for the foreseeable future.”

In August 2021, Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s victims, filed a lawsuit against Andrew in a New York court, alleging the prince had sex with her when she was a minor. Andrew denied the allegations, but was removed from all military connections and royal charities.

Andrew eventually settled the case for an undisclosed sum. While Andrew did not admit to making a mistake, he acknowledged that Giuffre suffered as a sex trafficking victim. Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025 at the age of 41.

That wasn’t the end of the story. King George III was arrested last year after emails emerged showing Andrew had been in contact with Epstein for longer than he had previously claimed. Charles stripped his brother of his princely title and other honors, as well as his home at Royal Lodge at Windsor.

Now he is also in police custody.

He remains eighth in line to the British throne.