Former Prince Andrew Arrested in Britain Over Epstein Ties
King Charles III said he supported a “full, fair and proper process” regarding the investigation of his brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, adding that he backed the authorities involved.
British police on Thursday arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, over suspicions of misconduct in public office after accusations that he shared confidential information with Jeffrey Epstein while serving as a British trade envoy.
The arrest was a stunning blow to the British monarchy, which has been rocked by scandals for decades and is now having to endure the spectacle of having one of its members arrested. The move escalated the long-running crisis for Buckingham Palace over the former prince’s ties to Mr. Epstein and allegations of sexual abuse of a young woman.
His brother, King Charles III, in a statement confirmed the arrest. The Thames Valley Police said in a statement that it had “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.”
As is policy under British law, the police did not name the suspect, but the details provided in the police report match what is known about the public misconduct allegations. The police were seen on Thursday morning at the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England, where Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor is living.
The arrest underscored a striking contrast in the official responses to the Epstein files. The British authorities have moved aggressively to investigate the possibility of crimes emerging from the three million pages of correspondence with Mr. Epstein, while police in the United States have not.
While Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor’s links to Mr. Epstein, the convicted sex offender, have been known for years, his arrest marks a new chapter in his public fall from grace. Last year, he was stripped of his royal titles and evicted from his sprawling residence.
Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied wrongdoing. His representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Here’s what else to know.
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Royal response: King Charles said he supported a “full, fair and proper process” regarding the investigation of his brother, adding that he backs the authorities involved: “In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation.” He added: “Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.”
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New disclosures: A tranche of documents released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Jan. 30 included a number of emails that suggested Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor may have shared confidential documents when working as a British trade envoy. In one email, he appears to forward to Mr. Epstein official reports about visits he made as envoy to South Asia in 2010 that were sent to him by his assistant.
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Earlier accusations: Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of Mr. Epstein’s victims, said that the financier had trafficked her to Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor around 2001, when she was a teenager, and that he had sex with her multiple times. In 2022, he paid Ms. Giuffre an undisclosed sum to settle a lawsuit in a New York court in which she said he had raped and sexually abused her when she was 17. Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor, who did not admit to any of Ms. Giuffre’s accusations against him in announcing the settlement, has denied any wrongdoing in relation to his friendship with Mr. Epstein.
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Broader orbit: The Epstein files have implicated several other members of the British elite. Police are investigating whether Peter Mandelson, a longtime British political operative who served as ambassador to the United States, committed “misconduct in public office” by sharing sensitive government documents with Mr. Epstein. He denies any criminal wrongdoing. The latest files also revealed that Sarah Ferguson, Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor’s ex-wife and the one-time Duchess of York, had carried on a long and personal correspondence with Mr. Epstein long after the disgraced financier was convicted of soliciting prostitution in 2008.
Several members of the British elite have been named in the Epstein files.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is not the only member of the British elite who has been caught up in files connected to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender.
The files, released by the U.S. Department of Justice, have also put a harsh spotlight on Peter Mandelson, a longtime British political operative who served as ambassador to the United States, and Sarah Ferguson, Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor’s ex-wife and the one-time Duchess of York.
And Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime companion of Mr. Epstein serving a federal prison sentence on sex-trafficking charges, is a former British socialite who is the daughter of the British media magnate Robert Maxwell.
Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied wrongdoing in relation to his friendship with Mr. Epstein.
The emails and text messages in the latest release of Epstein files revealed that Ms. Ferguson had carried on a long and personal correspondence with Mr. Epstein long after the disgraced financier was convicted of soliciting prostitution in 2008.
In a 2009 email, Mr. Epstein suggested that he paid for flights for “the Duchess and the girls from Heathrow to Miami,” an apparent reference to travel for Ms. Ferguson and her daughters, Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice. In 2010, in another email exchange, Ms. Ferguson called Mr. Epstein “a legend,” adding, “I really don’t have the words to describe my love, gratitude for your generosity and kindness. Xx I am at your service. Just marry me.”
Mr. Epstein also urged Ms. Ferguson to help him improve his public image, suggesting in one email that she release a statement asserting that he was “not a pedo.” There is no evidence that she did so.
Ms. Ferguson’s representatives have not responded to requests for comment since the new files were released. In 2011, she admitted that he had helped pay off her debts and apologized for her “terrible error of judgment” in “having anything to do with Jeffrey Epstein.” The new files show that she continued to exchange emails with Mr. Epstein after that admission.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer fired Mr. Mandelson last September after an earlier batch of files showed a close relationship between the ambassador and Mr. Epstein. A new tranche of files suggest a longstanding friendship between the two, undercutting Mr. Mandelson’s claims that he barely knew Mr. Epstein.
The prime minister has said Mr. Mandelson lied about the extent of that friendship, but critics have used the episode to call into question Mr. Starmer’s judgment in appointing him to the diplomatic post in the first place.
An analysis of the new Epstein files suggest that Mr. Mandelson continued to stay at Mr. Epstein’s properties in New York, and possibly in Paris after the prostitution conviction in 2008.
Mr. Mandelson is not accused of sexual misconduct and said in a BBC interview last month that he only ever saw “middle-aged housekeepers’ at Mr. Epstein’s properties. Mr. Mandelson has denied any criminal wrongdoing.
The statement from King Charles III is striking, as it was signed by him personally, and ended with a clear message to the British public: “My family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all,”it read. But it is unlikely that the clear statement will end the public scrutiny of his family and its response.