Possible next steps after the arrest of former Prince Andrew
LONDON — Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor may have been released, but his legal saga is not over.
On Friday, police continued to search his former residence at Royal Lodge in Windsor. That’s where he lived before his brother, King Charles III, asked him to leave last year, amid growing pressure over his relationship with the late financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Officers have now completed searches at Wood Farm, on the Sandringham Royal Estate, where Mountbatten-Windsor moved earlier this month, according to Thames Valley Police.
His release after about 11 hours in custody is not uncommon in cases of alleged white-collar crime. This does not mean that he has been exonerated – or that he has been released on bail; there are therefore no “conditions” for his release. This simply indicates that the police have completed this round of questioning and are continuing their investigation.
The former prince’s release “under investigation would indicate that this is going to be a long-term process”, said Dal Babu, former chief superintendent of London’s Metropolitan Police. This means “he is suspected of a crime, he has not been formally charged and there are no conditions. There is no timetable for how long the investigation will take.”
British authorities reacted after the US Department of Justice released 3.5 million additional files linked to Epstein. Some documents detail communications between Epstein and the former prince while he was a British trade envoy.
Following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office, Mountbatten-Windsor was taken to Aylsham police station in eastern England. He was released “under investigation” a few hours later, photographed slumped in the back of a car, staring into space with his hands clasped.
Former Prince Andrew could be brought back for further questioning or “re-arrested” if police deem it necessary. He could also be questioned on other lines of investigation.
Separately, the London Metropolitan Police also said on Friday that investigators were working to identify former and current officers who may have worked closely with Mountbatten Windsor on a protection basis.
“They have been asked to carefully consider whether anything they have seen or heard during this period of service may be relevant to our ongoing reviews and to share any information which may assist us,” the force said.
Mountbatten-Windsor has previously denied any wrongdoing regarding Epstein, but has made no comment on the allegations arising from the recent release of the Epstein files.
After years of scrutiny and criticism over his links to Epstein, his arrest was the first for a high-ranking royal since Charles I, who was beheaded for treason in 1649.
His case reveals the complex and often messy relationship between Britain’s democratically elected government and its largely ceremonial but still powerful monarchy.
The king, 77, was not warned in advance of his brother’s impending arrest, a palace official told NBC News. But the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Britain’s national body that coordinates law enforcement, informed the government, particularly the Home Office, 30 minutes in advance, “in line with usual practice”, Thames Valley Police, which made the arrest, said in a statement.
Buckingham Palace and the Department of Trade and Business have said they are ready to help police with their investigations, although it is unclear whether they have already done so.
Ultimately, at some point, police and the Crown Prosecution Service, or CPS, will have to decide whether to charge Mountbatten-Windsor, a decision that could take weeks or months.
The CPS is in contact with Thames Valley Police regarding the investigation, a spokesperson told NBC News on Friday, describing their contact as “informal.” Prosecutors offered no early investigative tips, the spokesperson added.
The name of this authority – the Crown Prosecution Service – indicates how extraordinary these circumstances are. Although the British monarchy has little day-to-day political power, the organs of state still derive their authority from the throne.
If the former prince were to be put on trial, it would be listed under the title “The King versus Mountbatten-Windsor”, pitting the younger brother against the majestic powers wielded by his older brother.
It would be a legal, royal, cultural and international drama of unprecedented scale.
Even the arrest itself made headlines and trending topics on social media around the world. The Times, the leading British newspaper, played fair with “The Arrest of Andrew”, while the New York Post opted for the other extreme: “THE PRINCE OF DARKNESS”.
Mountbatten-Windsor has been the subject of scrutiny and criticism since at least 2011, when furor erupted over her ongoing friendship with the disgraced financier who had recently served 13 months in prison for recruiting a child for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute.
One of the most prominent survivors of Epstein’s sexual abuse, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, claimed the financier trafficked her to his powerful friends, including Mountbatten-Windsor against whom she filed a lawsuit in 2021, alleging the royal sexually assaulted her when she was 17.
Mountbatten-Windsor, who has always denied meeting Giuffre, reached a legal settlement with her for an undisclosed amount in 2022. It contained no admission of responsibility or apology.
He has been among the least popular members of the royal family since at least 2019 – when a disastrous BBC interview brought his links to Epstein to the forefront. It only got deeper.
A poll by YouGov on Friday found that 82% of Britons now believe the late Queen Elizabeth II’s son should be removed from the line of succession. He is currently eighth in line to the British throne.
