New Delhi: Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of Britain’s King Charles III, was arrested on 19 February on suspicion of misconduct in public office — a rare charge for a member of the British royal family that marks a key turn in the long-running controversy over his association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew, or as he was previously known, Prince Andrew, turned 66 today, was arrested from Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate by the Thames Valley Police. The police are also conducting searches at his addresses in Norfolk and Berkshire.
“As part of the investigation, we have today 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. The man remains in police custody at this time,” Thames Valley Police said in a statement without naming Andrew.
What does the ‘misconduct’ charge mean?
Police are investigating allegations that Andrew shared sensitive information with Epstein when he was a UK trade envoy.
Misconduct in public office is a serious criminal offence under UK law. It applies when a public official or someone entrusted with authority wilfully neglects to perform their duties properly, abuses their position, or acts dishonestly for personal gain or to benefit another.
Police earlier said that there are allegations of a second woman being sent to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew, BBC reported.
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Links to Jeffrey Epstein
Andrew’s association with Epstein stretches back decades and has been the subject of persistent public scrutiny.
According to reports, Andrew met Epstein in the late 1990s and early 2000s, when the late financier was building an elite network of wealthy and influential figures. They were photographed together at social events, including Epstein’s residences and in the UK.
In 2006, Epstein attended a celebration at Windsor Castle on Andrew’s daughter Princess Beatrice’s 18th birthday. The gathering drew intense criticism, given Epstein had an arrest warrant out for him at the time in the US for sexually assaulting a minor.
Andrew has also faced longstanding accusations arising from Epstein’s criminal network.
In 2021, Virginia Giuffre said she had been trafficked by Epstein and filed a civil suit in the US alleging sexual abuse by Andrew when she was a minor. Andrew denied the claims. The case was settled in 2022 without any admission of liability; however, a private settlement was reached between the two, the BBC reported. Virginia killed herself in April last year.
Andrew stepped back from his royal duties in 2019. In 2022, his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, removed his military affiliations and limited his official roles. In 2025, he was formally stripped of his royal titles and honours by Charles III, amid ongoing pressure over his links with the disgraced financier.
Thames Valley Police say the investigation is ongoing and that the former royal “remains in police custody” as enquiries continue.
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)