Andrew's doomed birthday timeline including arrest, Fergie vanishing and Charles
Take a look at the latest developments in Andrew's 'birthday from hell'
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor spent the morning of his 66th birthday with police arriving at his door. It was worlds away from the glamorous birthday bashes his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson used to throw.
Turning 66 years old today, the former prince was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and is now in police custody. Police arrived to his temporary home on King Charles' private Sandringham Estate and are now carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk, reports The Mirror.
Thames Valley Police previously said the force was reviewing allegations that a woman was trafficked to the UK by Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew, and claims he shared sensitive information with the paedophile while serving as the UK's trade envoy. Andrew has consistently and strenuously denied any wrongdoing.
Earlier this week it was revealed that eight police forces around the UK had launched probes into Andrew and his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The National Crime Agency (NCA) revealed it is supporting UK police forces investigating information in the Epstein files, to "enable a full and independent assessment of the information released".
Pressure has piled on the disgraced former-prince and his relationship with the convicted paedophile after three million pages of previously unseen emails, documents and images from the Epstein Files were released in the US. Apparent emails between Andrew and the paedophile were released, as well a disturbing image of him on all fours over a woman
Royal author Andrew Lownie told The Mirror that the arrest has been a long time coming and that the police were "clearly getting their ducks in a row". The expert adds: "I do think there is a case you know, a very strong case on both the sex trafficking and the misconduct grounds for him to be charged, and I hope he will."
The Mirror has taken a look at the latest developments in Andrew's birthday from hell.
Police swoop in
It's been said that he had "no forewarning" of his arrest this morning. Photos show unmarked police cars and plain-clothed officers gathering outside his home.
Royal expert Jennie Bond - formerly the BBC's royal correspondent - told the Mirror: "On his last birthday, as President Trump continued to block the release of the Epstein files, Andrew probably thought the worst was over for him. How very mistaken he was. For Andrew Mountbatten Windsor, this truly is squeaky bum time."
Meanwhile, author Andrew Lownie - who penned a bombshell biography of Andrew and Sarah, tells the Mirror he "welcomes" the news of Andrew's arrest. "What a birthday present! Let's hope that they follow through. I think we were all pretty cynical about whether it would happen." He adds: "It looks like they are taking this seriously, I think the monarchy has been saved."
"This is great, this is the police doing their job," he says. "They had to act, all I can say is I welcome it. He needs to face justice, and others. I hope maybe there will be immunity given to those who worked for him."
Lownie claimed that King Charles likely knew about his brother's arrest ahead of time. "Yes, I'm sure he was [informed] and I think he would have okayed this."
The King has since broken his silence on his brother's arrest, saying "the law must take its course". He said in a written statement: "I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office. What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation. Let me state clearly: the law must take its course."
Author Lownie also believes that Parliament needs to conduct a full investigation into Andrew's years working as a trade envoy. "I think all the files on his time as a trade envoy need to be released, as they should have been. This should be a wake up call for the British establishment, not another excuse to brush things under the carpet."
Andrew's custody conditions
Policing commentator Danny Shaw told the BBC that Andrew can be held by the police for 12 to 24 hours before they either have to charge him, or release the former prince pending further investigation. In rare cases, the police can hold someone for as long as 96 hours before charging them, but they would have to apply for multiple extensions at a the Magistrate Court or with the approval of senior officers, reports The Mirror.
He will be taken to a custody suite and put in a cell that only contains a "a bed and a toilet". This is where the King's brother will wait until the police interview him, the commentator adds that in their view "there'll be no special treatment for him".
House raids
The police are carrying out searches in Norfolk and Berkshire and the BBC have said that laptops, phones, and other communication devices could be seized by the police, reports The Mirror.
Until very recently, Andrew lived close to Windsor Castle in the 30-room mansion, Royal Lodge. Where he is staying now, Wood Farm, on the Sandringham Estate is a much smaller property, as is the property Marsh Farm he is due to be moving into shortly. It has been reported that many of Andrew's possessions have been moved to a storage facility that is under 24 hour guard, securing his things under lock and key.
Fergie 'gone to ground'
Sarah Ferguson might have once dubbed her and Andrew the "happiest divorced couple in the world" but they are finally going their own way. The pair remained close after their divorce in the mid 1990s, with Sarah even living at Royal Lodge with Andrew when she was in the UK until the pair recently moved out, but it's not likely she will be popping in with birthday presents and wishes this year.
Jennie Bond told The Mirror. "In the past, his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson threw lavish parties at Royal Lodge for his birthday. This year the scene will be very different as he wakes up - presumably alone — in his temporary home on the Sandringham estate. His ex-wife is nowhere to be seen, and there are reports of tensions between him and at least one of his daughters. Whether any of his family will visit him is very much open to question."
Royal Family tensions
Tensions are said to be high in the Royal Family as the scandal over Andrew's ties to Epstein and the new allegations continue to emerge, according to The Mirror. Prince Edward, Andrew's younger brother, is the only one of the House of Windsor to comment publicly since the most recent tranche of the Epstein files was dropped. During an overseas tour, Edward was asked about it unexpectedly, and his reply clearly showed which side of the fence he comes down on, urging people to "remember the victims".
Andrew and Edward are reported by royal expert Robert Jobson to always have had something of a strained relationship - with Andrew's more bolshy personality "overpowering" Edward, who has always been more "sensitive". Edward was also closer to their father, the late Prince Philip the expert claimed, whilst Andrew was the late Queen's favourite.
Before today's developments, Jennie Bond mused that despite the allegations, Andrew may have heard from his siblings. "Despite the disgrace he is in and the damage he's done to the monarchy's reputation, his siblings may be in touch on his birthday. Anne and Edward in particular may feel they want to check that he's OK. He is, after all, their brother. But I doubt that any of them will be knocking on his door. But I'm quite sure he won't be getting any birthday wishes from William."
'Unstable' state
Reports have emerged that see sources claim the royals are concerned about Andrew's mental health amid the ongoing controversy, dubbing him "unstable". This includes even William himself - who Mirror Royal Editor, Russell Myers has revealed in his new book pushed back against the late Queen and his father Charles over their handling of the Andrew crisis, previously imploring them to take a harder line.
A source told the Mail that the King became concerned when Andrew was still living in Windsor and was going for regular horse rides that saw him waving at passersby, something that "harked back to his royal days when he was used to adulation and respect," the source said.
"Andrew is having difficulty acknowledging reality and it was increasingly causing concern at the Palace – both as a sign of his mental state and because it wouldn't play well with the public witnessing him still enjoying the trappings of royalty."
Andrew is reported to be struggling to deal with the idea that when the time comes he won't have a high-profile royal funeral, something he always expected he would be honoured with. Morbid it might seem, but royals tend to play an active role in the planning of their own funerals.
For instance, the late Prince Philip planned many details of his own send-off and made it clear he absolutely did not want to lie-in-state, or have a major state funeral, because it simply was not his style. Andrew, "envisaged a grand affair in St George's Chapel in Windsor, televised to a grieving nation, but his plans have been put in the shredder," a source reportedly said.
Jennie Bond tells the Mirror about the former duke's mental state, "He is an arrogant, self-assured man – but even he must be feeling the heat. To live with this kind of pressure must take its toll on anyone - unless they are somehow completely oblivious to the gathering storm. He must be living with constant fear about what will be revealed next. At this stage, only he knows if there is more to come."
Royal commentator Afua Acheampong-Hagan agrees that the controversy is likely taking a toll on Andrew, but is "wary" about one aspect of the reports. "I kind of worry of that being used an excuse for him not to take accountability," she explains.
"Perhaps that he will start blaming mental health issues and use that as an excuse to not speak before congress, or take any accountability, I'm just wary about that."
But she is not "surprised" at all at the idea his mental health might be in shambles, "I don't doubt that this has had a great effect on his mental health. I don't doubt that at all, but again, two things can be true at once: this can be affecting his mental health but he still has to be held accountable."
Money woes
Andrew is reported to be surviving now on a "modest stipend" from his brother Charles. From today, he is technically eligible to draw a £230.25 per week state pension owing to his age. Now the question has been raised of how Andrew will cover the legal costs associated with his arrest, or if he will have to rely on the duty solicitor station to which he has been taken.
"The thing is Andrew doesn't have any money," explains royal commentator Afua Acheampong-Hagan, so funding for a solicitor "will probably come from the Royal Family, I believe."
"It remains a mystery how Andrew has been able to afford such an extravagant lifestyle without any sources of income beyond his naval pension," Andrew Lownie said to the Mirror. "No one knows except people like David Stern and his accountant Arthur Lancaster."
Andrew also receives a £20,000 annual pension from the Royal Navy, where he served between 1979 and 2001 - but no other public information is available about his finances. The Epstein files see Fergie repeatedly ask Epstein for money over the years, but Andrew's finances are "murky". Experts have explain to the Mirror that the source of the finances supplied to Andrew by the King may well be subsidised by the taxpayer themselves, even now.
Police security protects Sandringham, where Andrew is now living, and the estate though owned privately by the King, is exempt from inheritance tax - because it has passed from monarch to monarch for over a century. Anything left from one sovereign to the next is tax-free, but the public does not have access to information about how Charles has provided for his siblings once it all became his.
"Arguably, if they weren't exempt from inheritance tax, they wouldn't have been able to keep Balmoral and Sandringham," campaigner Graham Smith from Republic tells the Mirror. Sandringham is also dubbed by the government to have both an "official" and "private use" which is why it is exempt from taxation.
Charles's main source of income is the Duchy of Lancaster, which he owns in "right of the crown" - not as a private individual. He cannot sell off its assets and keep the profits himself, and he voluntarily pays income tax on some of the income. However, if the "modest stipend" comes from this, it is not fully "private wealth" as it would be legally defined to normal people, because he only owns it due to his status as monarch, not as Charles Mountbatten Windsor the individual. Graham explains that in his opinion "the evidence is "unequivocal" that the duchies "are crown assets, which are state assets."
A source told the Times that Charles felt he had no option but to fund his brother because "Every time he's tried to support himself by independent means, it has led to greater trouble. Containing him is the hope."