British police forces on Friday initiated a search of a mansion recently occupied by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. This action comes just a day after the former prince’s shocking arrest, which sent ripples through the royal family due to his connections with the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Mountbatten-Windsor underwent extensive questioning late Thursday at a police station in Norfolk regarding allegations of misconduct during his public service.
Images of him looking visibly stunned as he departed the police station in a vehicle dominated Friday’s British newspaper front pages. His arrest marks one of the most significant crises to engulf the British monarchy in decades.
Mountbatten-Windsor, who celebrated his 66th birthday on Thursday, was previously known as Prince Andrew and is the younger brother of King Charles III.
His arrest followed the release of millions of documents by the United States Department of Justice last month, all related to Epstein. Reports suggest that Mountbatten-Windsor may have illicitly shared classified government information with Epstein during his tenure as a British trade envoy from 2001 to 2011.
As of now, Mountbatten-Windsor has not been formally charged. British authorities have not publicly addressed the sexual abuse accusations made against the former prince by Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who tragically died by suicide last year, nor the trafficking allegations that Epstein faced before his death in a Manhattan jail in 2019.
Mountbatten-Windsor has maintained his innocence, consistently denying any wrongdoing throughout recent months and declining all requests for public comment.
The police search on Friday was concentrated at Royal Lodge, a sprawling 30-room mansion on the Windsor Castle estate. This property served as the former prince’s residence until earlier this year, when he relocated to a smaller royal property in Sandringham, Norfolk.
Given that Mountbatten-Windsor utilized an office within Buckingham Palace during his time as a trade envoy, there is speculation that this location might also become subject to a police search.
The British police have refrained from divulging specific details of their investigation. Misconduct in public office is defined as a public servant ‘willfully neglecting their duty’ or ‘willfully misconducting themselves’ in a manner that abuses public trust. This offense theoretically carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
While other senior members of the royal family continue their official duties, the mounting allegations surrounding Mountbatten-Windsor have placed the monarchy in an unprecedented position of vulnerability, recalling several past crises over the last century.
Remarkably, no senior member of the royal family had been arrested for a serious crime since the 17th century until Thursday.
King Charles III released a public statement following the arrest, vowing full cooperation with the ongoing investigation and asserting that “the law must take its course.”
On Thursday, Sky Roberts, Virginia Giuffre’s brother, commended the British authorities, drawing a stark contrast between the swift action in Britain and what he described as a lack of action in the United States.
“I will continue to commend the king for the actions he has taken; we have yet to see that from our own government here,” he stated in a BBC interview.
Amanda Roberts, Giuffre’s sister-in-law, also voiced her hopes during the interview: “We are hopeful that this investigation now starts to open up that further probe into the sexual assault allegations.”
In 2022, Mountbatten-Windsor paid an undisclosed sum to Giuffre to settle a lawsuit in a New York court, where she accused him of assault when she was 17. He did not admit wrongdoing as part of that settlement.
Last year, Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal titles and honors following earlier revelations from the Epstein files. Despite this, he remains eighth in line to the throne. Although his ascension to the monarchy seems highly improbable, some politicians are advocating for his right of succession to be formally revoked.
Such a revocation would necessitate parliamentary legislation, a process that could subject the monarchy to even greater public scrutiny.
Mountbatten-Windsor has stated that he first met Epstein in 1999 through Ghislaine Maxwell, who was then Epstein’s girlfriend and the well-connected daughter of media mogul Robert Maxwell.
In 2008, Epstein was imprisoned after pleading guilty in Florida to soliciting a minor for prostitution. Two years later, Mountbatten-Windsor and Epstein were photographed walking together in Central Park, New York City. The former prince later claimed that this meeting was solely to formally end their friendship in person.