Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested and released under investigation on suspicion of misconduct in public office over claims he leaked confidential documents to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Thames Valley Police confirmed the arrest on Thursday, on his 66th birthday, following allegations uncovered in the latest tranche of the Epstein files, that the former prince had shared sensitive information with Epstein while serving as the UK’s trade envoy.
He was detained for 11 hours for police questioning, before he was pictured cowering in the back of a Range Rover as he was driven away from a police station in Aylesham, Norfolk.
Police also raided two addresses, with unmarked police cars and plain-clothed police officers seen outside Wood Farm, where Mr Mountbatten-Windsor now lives on the King’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, on the morning of his arrest.
Searches are also entering their third day at his former home, the sprawling 30-room Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park, Berkshire, that he shared with his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson until recently.
Thames Valley Police previously said the force was also reviewing allegations that a woman was trafficked to the UK by Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Mr Mountbatten-Windsor.
The former duke is the first senior royal in modern history to be arrested. Policing commentator Danny Shaw told the BBC that the former prince would likely have been held in “a cell in a custody suite” with just “a bed and a toilet”, following his arrest.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
What is misconduct in public office?
According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), misconduct in public office is a common law offence and carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
People can be charged with the office if it “concerns serious wilful abuse or neglect of the power or responsibilities of the public office held”.
The CPS also states that there “must be a direct link between the misconduct and the abuse of those powers or responsibilities”.
Simarjot Singh Judge, managing partner at Judge Law, said: “Misconduct in public office is a serious common law offence which requires prosecutors to show that a public officer deliberately breached their duty in a way that represents a serious abuse of public trust.”
He said: “It is not enough for there to have been an error of judgment – the conduct must be wilful and sufficiently serious.”
While an arrest is a significant step, it does not mean that Mr Mountbatten-Windsor will face charges and is not a finding of guilt.
To secure a conviction, prosecutors would need to prove that the individual was acting in an official capacity and that the alleged misconduct was deliberate.
Would his royal status protect him?
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s former royal status and his position as the King’s brother would not provide him with any legal immunity from the criminal justice system.
If he were to be charged with misconduct in public office, the case would proceed through the courts in the same manner as usual.
Are other forces probing the royal’s links to Epstein?
On Friday, the Metropolitan Police urged Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s former bodyguards to “consider carefully whether anything they saw or heard” is relevant to their inquiries.
The Met – which is responsible for providing police protection to members of the royal family – said they were identifying and contacting former and serving close protection officers of the former Duke of York, urging them to share any information that could assist with the investigation.
Met detectives are also working with authorities in the US to establish whether London airports were used to “facilitate human trafficking and sexual exploitation”, after former prime minister Gordon Brown called for police to “urgently” re-examine claims that women, or girls, were trafficked to the UK by Epstein aboard flights to Stansted.
In a statement, the force said: “The Met is identifying and contacting former and serving officers who may have worked closely, in a protection capacity, with Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
“They have been asked to consider carefully whether anything they saw or heard during that period of service may be relevant to our ongoing reviews and to share any information that could assist us.
“While we are aware of the extensive media reporting and commentary about this matter, as of today, no new criminal allegations have been made to the Met regarding sexual offences said to have occurred within our jurisdiction.”
