By Rachel Roberts
Contributing Writer
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the brother of British King Charles III, was released Thursday evening after being detained for 11 hours at his home, according to the Thames Valley Police force.
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Thames Valley Police confirmed an arrest on Thursday of a man in his 60s from Norfolk in eastern England, following allegations made against the former prince and Duke of York after the release of millions of pages of files related to sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The police force, which oversees districts west of London — including the area of Mountbatten-Windsor’s former residence — declined to name the suspect in keeping with standard British practice, but it referred to its earlier statement when asked by The Associated Press to confirm whether the former prince had been arrested.
Photographs that circulated online appeared to show unmarked police cars attending Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, and plain-clothed officers appeared to gather outside the home of the former duke on his 66th birthday.
Thames Valley Police said previously that the force was reviewing allegations that a woman was trafficked to the UK by Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Mountbatten-Windsor and claims that he shared sensitive information with the sex offender while serving as the UK’s trade envoy.
Searches are being carried out at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk, the police said.
The former duke was staying at Sandringham after being evicted by his older brother, King Charles, from his previous home at Royal Lodge in Windsor earlier this month.
Police said in a statement before Mountbatten-Windsor was released that on Thursday they “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.”
It cautioned, “Remember that this case is now active so care should be taken with any publication to avoid being in contempt of court.”
‘Significant Public Interest’
Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said, “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office.”
No longer an official member of the royal family and effectively a commoner, the former duke was reported to police by the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic following the release of the latest files relating to Epstein, who was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.
The latest tranche of files released on Jan. 30 by the U.S. Department of Justice suggested that Mountbatten-Windsor had in 2010 forwarded to Epstein reports about Singapore, Vietnam and other places he had visited on official trips in his capacity as trade envoy.
King: ‘The Law Must Take Its Course’
The king said that “the law must take its course” after he expressed his “deepest concern” over the arrest of his brother.
In a statement issued through Buckingham Palace, the king acknowledged the arrest of his brother and said, “As I have said before, [the police] have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation.”
The palace said previously it would “stand ready to support” the police if approached over the claims made against the former duke, and that the “thoughts and utmost sympathies” of King Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla, “have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.”
Revelations and Allegations
The former duke was stripped of his titles by the king following revelations concerning the extent of his friendship and communications with the sex offender after the posthumous release of a book by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that she was trafficked by Epstein and his accomplice, Ghislaine Maxwell, when she was a teenager.
In 2022, the former duke settled a lawsuit with Giuffre, who accused him of having sex with her when she was 17 after they were introduced by Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor said he has no recollection of ever meeting Giuffre, who was the most high-profile campaigner for Epstein’s victims before she died by suicide in Western Australia in April 2025.
The former duke is the first senior British royal in modern history to have been arrested.
The late Queen Elizabeth II insisted that the former duke step down from public life following the scandal that dogged him over the allegations made by Giuffre and an appearance he made on BBC Newsnight in November 2019.
Jacki Thrapp and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
