Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is in police custody after he was arrested at his home on Thursday morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
The former prince, who turns 66 today, was escorted off the Royal Family’s Sandringham estate by Thames Valley Police officers.
In a statement, Thames Valley Police said: “As part of the investigation, we have today (19/2) 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.”
What triggered the arrest?
Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest comes weeks after the US Department of Justice released another batch of Epstein files, the largest drop to date.
Among the 3 million pages of documents, were emails that sparked allegations about Mountbatten-Windsor’s conduct during his time as a trade envoy.
A number of police forces in the UK have confirmed they are assessing information related to the Epstein files, but Thames Valley Police has been leading on enquiries into allegations relating to misconduct in public office made against the former prince.
Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said: “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office.
“It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence.”
Up until this morning, Thames Valley Police had maintained they were still assessing information and had not yet escalated action to a criminal investigation.
This delay drew criticism from former chief crown prosecutor Nazir Afzal, who told The i Paper it was “shameful it hasn’t happened”, and women’s rights campaigners who said investigations “shouldn’t be delayed any further“.
Former Metropolitan Police officer Graham Wettone, who had expected Thames Valley Police to launch a criminal investigation, said there are effective “trigger points” investigators would be examining.
“It’s akin to a domino effect, does one [thing] lead to another… if you can tick all those boxes, then you’ve probably got enough to start an investigation,” he said.
What will investigators need to prove?
Jeremy Horder, professor of criminal law at the LSE and author of Criminal Misconduct in Office, said that while there are three main elements to the offence, “the major one is… what you did wrong must be so bad as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust”.
Wettone said that in an investigation like this, officers would have to “take into account the information you’ve got currently, as in information/evidence that you’ve been given.”
Misconduct in public office concerns serious willful abuse or neglect of the power or responsibilities of the office held. The Crown Prosecution states that there “must be a direct link between the misconduct and an abuse of those powers or responsibilities”.
A man steps out of umarked car at the home of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on February 19, 2026 (Photo: Peter Nicholls/Getty Images)Simarjor Judge Singh, managing partner at the Windsor-based firm Judge Law, said that for a case to be deemed misconduct in a public office, it was: “Not enough for there to have been an error of judgment – the conduct must be willful and sufficiently serious.”
He added that if confidential reports were shared, investigators would need to examine their classification, whether there was authorisation, and the intent behind any disclosure.
“Prosecutors would need to establish intent, seriousness and whether the conduct crossed the threshold into criminal wrongdoing,” he said.
What potential evidence will police search for?
Judge said officers will typically be looking for anything that supports (or undermines) the allegation of an unauthorised disclosure.
“That can include hard-copy papers, diaries/notes, printed briefing packs, and then phones, laptops, tablets, USBs, cloud accounts and email archives,” he said. “They may also look for communications trails, such as messages, call logs, calendars, and metadata showing when a file was created/sent, and anything indicating intent, knowledge and access.”
How long can officers keep him under arrest?
The police can hold someone under arrest for up to 24 hours before they have to charge them with a crime or release them.
They can apply for an extension of up to 36 or 96 hours if an individual is suspected of a serious crime.
“The difficulty you have in this investigation is once you arrest, once you detain somebody or arrest them to then interview them, your detention clock starts ticking and you’ve only got literally 24 hours to conduct your investigations, your interviews and make a charging decision,” Wettone said.
Jonathan Fisher KC, Barrister at Red Lion Chambers, says: “The Crown Prosecution Service would apply its standard test: is there sufficient evidence to provide a realistic prospect of conviction, and is prosecution in the public interest? In practical terms, that means asking whether a conviction is more likely than an acquittal.” Ultimately, any decision to charge Andrew will turn on the strength of the evidence and whether the court is satisfied that a fair and impartial trial remains achievable.”
What sentence does misconduct in public office carry?
Misconduct in public office is an offence that carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
What are the constitutional implications?
Only the monarch is covered by sovereign immunity, a centuries-old doctrine that protects them from being prosecuted or subject to civil legal action under the law.
However, this protection does not extend to other members of the royal family or those who have previously held royal family status.
Horder said: “He [Mountbatten-Windsor] doesn’t have any immunity in virtue of having been a prince at the time, so he doesn’t have any immunity from prosecution.”
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He is also still technically a Counsellor of State, which means he can deputise for the monarch when he is absent abroad, or temporarily incapacitated.
Rachael Maskell, Labour MP for York Central, has called for Mountbatten-Windsor to be removed the role, and have his succession rights revoked.
As Mountbatten-Windsor is eight in line to the throne and Prince Edward and Princess Anne are also listed as Counsellors of State, there is no need for Andrew to be called upon.
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