Former Prince Andrew arrested as King Charles issues statement

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor remains in police custody on Thursday evening after being arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over his ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

The former prince, who became the first senior royal in modern history to be arrested, is accused of sharing sensitive information with Epstein while serving as the UK’s trade envoy.

His brother, the King, said “the law must take its course” after expressing his “deepest concern” over the arrest, which came after millions of files were released by the US Department of Justice in relation to the Epstein scandal.

Thames Valley Police previously said the force was reviewing allegations after emails released as part of the trove of documents appeared to show the former duke sharing reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore with the disgraced financier.

Andrew’s arrest on Thursday, on his 66th birthday, followed pictures of officers in attendance at his home on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk – with police seen gathering outside Wood Farm.

In the afternoon, several police officers were stood nearby, close to a private entrance to the estate.

Searches have also taken place at the Royal Lodge, Andrew’s former home in Windsor, Berkshire, where multiple vans carrying uniformed officers arrived on Thursday afternoon.

Andrew has denied any wrongdoing over his Epstein links, but has not directly responded to the latest allegations.

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.

Take a look at the latest developments in Andrew's birthday from hell here.

The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor – who is eighth in line to the British throne – is “seismic” and has left senior royals in “uncharted waters”, a royal commentator has suggested.

Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said the royal family was facing a situation that it was “ill-equipped to navigate”.

Mr Hunt told the Press Association: “The arrest of the eighth in line to the British throne is seismic.

“Senior royals are now in uncharted waters that they are ill-equipped to navigate.

“They will have to answer questions about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and be held accountable, something which, up until now, has been an alien concept for them.”

Andrew was arrested at around 8am this morning, according to the BBC.

His arrest means the police have the power to search his homes. We know officers have been at two sites associated with the former prince - the Royal Lodge in Berkshire and Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate.

Thames Valley Police confirmed Andrew is in police custody, where formal questions can now be put to him in interview.

The CPS will have to make a decision about whether or not to charge him. Under UK law, police can hold a suspect without charging them for up to 24 hours from the time of arrest. However, this can be extended if authorised by a senior officer.If Andrew is charged, then he will either be held in custody or released on bail with conditions. He would then prepare for his first court appearance, typically a magistrates’ court hearing.

The King has now left the London Fashion Week event he attended this afternoon.

As his car departed, a reporter could be heard shouting. Again, the King ignored the media's questions about Andrew's arrest.

A US politician who called for Andrew to give evidence under oath in front of Congress about his links to Epstein has said he hopes the former prince’s arrest will “lead to answers”.

Democrat congressman Suhas Subramanyam, of the US House Oversight Committee, said in a statement that Thursday’s development shows “there will be accountability even if you hide, regardless of how rich and powerful you are”.

Mr Subramanyam, alongside fellow democrat congressman Robert Garcia, previously accused Andrew of hiding after he failed to respond to a letter calling for him to answer questions about the Epstein scandal.

In a statement today, following Andrew's arrest, Mr Subramanyam said:

"He (Andrew) appears repeatedly in the documents we have uncovered as having knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes and is specifically named by victims as someone who engaged in wrongdoing.

"Yet he has continued to ignore our calls to cooperate with the Oversight Committee’s investigation.

"We hope today’s arrest will lead to answers and show that there will be accountability even if you hide, regardless of how rich and powerful you are."

Members of the public gathered outside awaiting the King's arrival at an event in London this afternoon. Members of the media shouted questions about Andrew at the King, but he did not respond.

This map shows the two locations we know police are searching today.

The Royal Lodge is on the Windsor estate in Berskire. This is Andrew's former home, where he lived for more than 20 years. Police have been seen at the gates and searches of the property are continuing.

Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate, in Norfolk, is where Andrew was arrested this morning at around 8am. This is where the former prince is temporarily residing.

It is understood that Andrew will eventually move into Marsh Farm, also on the Sandringham estate, after renovation works are completed on the property.

The Princess Royal attended a planned visit to a West Yorkshire prison on Thursday afternoon. Two black Range Rovers arrived at HMP Leeds at 2.30pm, escorted by police.

About a dozen staff members from nearby charities stood by the road hoping to catch a glimpse of the royal as she drove onto the site.

Kelly Manton, from the West Yorkshire Community Chaplaincy Project Resettlement Service, said she was "sad" to learn of Andrew’s arrest. She told reporters: "It’s sad in a way it’s come to this, given the stature and everything of the Royal family. He’s a big figure in the UK and in the Royal family. It’s just a sad situation and I do feel for the Royal family that this is happening to them."

PA reports that the King was met with 'groans' while arriving at an afternoon engagement in the Strand area of central London.

Wearing a dark suit, Charles stepped out of the car to a mixture of shouts, cheers and groans from members of the public crowding the streets.

The King did not respond to questions about Andrew as he entered the building.

The Queen did not respond to a question from the media about Andrew's arrest during her engagements today.

Camilla was questioned about the arrest of her brother-in-law as she left an event in Westminster.

As she got into a waiting car outside a lunchtime orchestral concert at Sinfonia Smith Square Hall, she was asked “are you concerned about Andrew’s arrest, your majesty?” The Queen waved to cameras but did not respond.

More police have gone through the gates of Andrew’s former Berkshire home as they continue to conduct their search.

Multiple vans carrying police officers arrived at the Royal Lodge residence on Thursday afternoon, where a search of Andrew’s former home is ongoing.

Members of the public, including runners, dog walkers and children on scooters, are still roaming the sprawling parks which surround the residence.

The press are being held at an outer gate beyond Windsor Great Park and are not permitted on the grounds currently.

Gordon Brown said he has submitted a “five-page memorandum” to selected UK police forces which “provides new and additional information to that which I submitted last week”.

He previously claimed the Epstein files showed in “graphic detail” how the financier was able to use London Stansted Airport to “fly in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia”.

In an article for the New Statesman, Mr Brown wrote that files showed Epstein’s jet – the so-called Lolita Express – making 90 flights to or from UK airports, including 15 after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a child. The politician said Epstein “boasted” about how cheap the airport charges were in Stansted compared to Paris.

A spokesperson for Stansted Airport said the airport “does not manage or have any visibility of passenger arrangements on privately-operated aircraft”.

The former prime minister said in a statement following Andrew's arrest: “I have submitted a five-page memorandum to the Metropolitan, Surrey, Sussex, Thames Valley and other relevant UK police constabularies.

“This memorandum provides new and additional information to that which I submitted last week to the Met, Essex and Thames Valley police forces where I expressed my concern that we secure justice for trafficked girls and women.”

The King has carried on with his duties as monarch in the wake of Andrew's arrest.

Charles continued with his planned ambassadorial in-person audiences in the Throne Room at St James’s Palace on Thursday. He was pictured welcoming the ambassador of El Salvador Francisco Lima Mena as part of a series of audiences at the royal residence.

According to the BBC, Andrew was arrested at around 8am this morning at the Sandringham estate.

He is in police custody, however it is not known where he is currently being held.

Andrew has become the most senior member of the royal family to be arrested in modern times.

Nearly 380 years ago, King Charles I was imprisoned by Oliver Cromwell during the civil war and put under house arrest at Hampton Court Palace in 1647.

In 2002, Andrew’s sister the Princess Royal, was summoned to appear before magistrates after being prosecuted for keeping a dangerous dog when her English bull terrier dog Dotty bit two boys in Windsor Great Park. However, it is not thought she was ever arrested.

Anne and husband the then-Commodore Timothy Laurence were alleged to have been in charge of a dog that was dangerously out of control in a public place and injured the children. Anne pleaded guilty to the charge and was fined £500 and ordered to pay £250 in compensation and £148 in costs after appearing at East Berkshire Magistrates’ Court in Slough.

In 2019, Philip came under police scrutiny when he crashed his Land Rover at the age of 97, hitting a car carrying a mother and a baby. Norfolk Constabulary investigated the incident and a file was passed to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which later announced that Philip would face no further action.

In 2004, the late Queen’s first cousin, the Duke of Gloucester, appeared before magistrates in Ely, Cambridgeshire, and was banned from driving for six months after admitting his fourth speeding offence in three years.

He was fined £60 and ordered to pay £35 costs. The duke, who had not been arrested, resigned from his role as president of the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

Peter Hunt, a former royal correspondent for the BBC, said the royal family is facing a situation that it is “ill-equipped to navigate”.

Mr Hunt told the Press Association:

Officers are stationed at the Sandringham estate, where Andrew has been living.

According to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), misconduct in public office is defined as 'serious wilful abuse or neglect of the power or responsibilities of the public office held'.

It happens when a public office holder wilfully neglects to perform his or her duty or wilfully misconducts him or herself, to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust in that office.

The offence technically carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, but in this case that maximum would be extremely unlikely, experts have said.

In recent years, prison officers have been prosecuted for the offence after having inappropriate relationships with inmates, as well as police officers leaking information.

Police searches of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home of Royal Lodge, in Windsor, are ongoing.

Officers can be seen at the gates of the sprawling property, while the press are being kept at an outer entrance.

A police spokesperson at the scene confirmed that the search is ongoing within the property.

Walkers and families are continuing to wander through the surrounding Windsor Great Park.

PA says it understands that the Prince and Princess of Wales support the King’s statement following the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Deputy prime minister David Lammy said 'nobody is above the law' as he responded to the news of Andrew's arrest.

Speaking to the BBC's technology editor Zoe Kleinman at the India AI Impact Summit in Delhi this morning, the justice secretary said: "As justice secretary - and as the prime minister has said - nobody in this country is above the law. And this is now a police investigation and that must happen in the usual way."

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested today on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Police arrived at Andrew's home on the Sandringham estate this morning, on the same day of his 66th birthday.

It is a fall from grace for the former prince, who at one point was second in line to the throne behind his brother King Charles III after his birth in 1960.

The former Prince Andrew, Duke of York, was once a well-regarded member of the Royal Family, but in recent years his public downfall has seen him formally stripped of his royal titles and evicted from his home Royal Lodge over his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Read the full story here.

Officers have been seen outside Royal Lodge, where Andrew previously lived with his family between 2004 and 2026.

The family of Virginia Giuffre have issued a statement following Andrew's arrest.

Ms Giuffre had claimed she was trafficked by Epstein and forced to have sex with Andrew when she was a teenager, allegations that the former prince has always denied. She died at the age of 41 in April last year.

In a statement today, her family said: "At last. Today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty. On behalf of our sister, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, we extend our gratitude to the UK’s Thames Valley Police for their investigation and arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. He was never a prince. For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you."

The PA media agency says understands that neither the King nor Buckingham Palace was informed in advance of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest.

King Charles has issued a statement following the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

In a statement, released by the palace at midday, The King said “the law must take its course” after expressing his “deepest concern” over the arrest.

You can read the latest and his statement in full here.

The BBC reports that searches are being undertaken at Royal Lodge in Berkshire, where Andrew previously lived.

A BBC reporter said they have seen uniformed police officers past the gates that lead to the property in Windsor Great Park. The BBC said it understands that searches are being carried out and officers are guarding the scene.

The Queen has arrived for an engagement in Westminster just hours after police confirmed Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Wearing a velvet, navy coat, Camilla was greeted by representatives of Sinfonia Smith Square where she will attend a lunchtime orchestral concert.