UK police search royal mansion as Andrew probe goes on
British police searched the former mansion of King Charles’ younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after a photo of the royal family from a police station was splashed across newspapers around the world.
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on Thursday, her 66th birthday, on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations that she sent secret government documents to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein while she was a trade ambassador.
The former prince was released under investigation after being detained by police for more than 10 hours.
He was not charged with any crime but appeared ghostly in a Reuters photo after his release, slumped in the back of a Range Rover, his eyes red and a disbelieving expression on his face.
A photograph of the man who was once a dashing naval officer and said to be the favorite son of the late Queen Elizabeth appeared on the front pages of newspapers in Britain and around the world, along with headlines such as “Collapse”.
Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing regarding Epstein, a convicted sex offender who took his own life in 2019, and has said she regrets their friendship.
But the US government’s release of millions of documents showed that Epstein remained friends with her long after he was convicted of soliciting a minor for prostitution in 2008.
These files suggested that Mountbatten-Windsor conveyed to the British government reports on investment opportunities in Afghanistan and assessments of Vietnam, Singapore and other places he visited as the government’s Special Representative for Trade and Investment.
The arrest of the senior royal, eighth in line to the throne, is unprecedented in modern times.
The last member of the royal family to be arrested in Britain was Charles I, who was beheaded in 1649 after being found guilty of treason.
King Charles, who stripped his brother of his title as prince and forced him out of his Windsor home in 2025, said on Thursday he learned of the arrest with “deep concern”.
“Let me be clear: The law must take its course,” the king said.
“What follows now is the full, fair and appropriate process to ensure that this matter is investigated appropriately and by the appropriate authorities.”
Early on Thursday morning, news broke that six unmarked police cars and about eight plainclothes officers had arrived at Wood Farm, on the King’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, eastern England, where Mountbatten-Windsor currently resides.
Thames Valley Police officers also searched the mansion in King’s Windsor, west London, where Mountbatten-Windsor lived before she was forcibly evicted amid outrage over Epstein’s revelations.
Officers said late Thursday that the Crown had been released under investigation.
They said searches in Sandringham had been completed but searches in Windsor continued on Friday.
While being arrested does mean that the police have reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed and that the royal family is suspected of being involved in a crime, it does not imply guilt.
A conviction for misconduct in public office carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment and cases must be heard in the Crown Court, which deals with the most serious offences.
