What has happened with ex-Prince Andrew?

While British police have not formally identified him, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is widely reported to be the man arrested on Thursday morning. Thames Valley Police, who made the arrest, said it was on "suspicion of misconduct in public office", a so-called "common law offense," that is a crime established by a combination of legal precedent and custom, not by a formal act of parliament. Later on Thursday, police said he had "been released under investigation." 

While the nature of the alleged offence has not yet been made clear, Mountbatten-Windsor, known as Prince Andrew until being stripped of his titles last year, has been heavily linked to disgraced and deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The latest release from the Epstein Files contains many emails from a man who went by the email ID of either "A" or "The Duke." 

Why is Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor no longer a Prince?

While Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, his older brother, King Charles, formally removed his royal titles last in November due to the links between the men. Andrew's military and His Royal Highness (HRH) titles had already been removed in 2022.

The 2025 decision came shortly after the posthumous release of  Virginia Giuffre's memoir in October. Giuffre was one of the most prominent accusers of Epstein and claimed he had trafficked her to Mountbatten-Windsor. The former prince settled a civil lawsuit with Giuffre in 2022 by paying significant sums to her and her charity without any admission of guilt.

The king's decision meant Andrew was forced out of his crown-owned 30-room property in Windsor, in which he'd lived for more than 20 years, and moved to the Marsh Farm, a much smaller property within the grounds of the king's private Sandringham estate in Norfolk. It is there that the arrest happened, according to British outlets.

What is ex-Prince Andrew's backstory?

Andrew Albert Christian Edward Mountbatten-Windsor was the third child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, born in 1960. He was initially second in line for the throne after his older brother Charles. Despite the removal of his titles (he was also previously known as the Duke of York), he currently is still technically eighth in line to the throne, after Charles's sons, William and Harry, and their children. But any such ascension is thought almost impossible.

Like many royals, Andrew joined in the military, in his case the Royal Navy in 1978, later serving in the Falklands War —  a 1982 conflict between Argentina and the UK over the British overseas territory in the south Atlantic. It was during this time he was dubbed 'Randy Andy' in the British press as a result of a number of romantic flings. He was widely believed to be the late Queen Elizabeth II's favorite child, a notion fueled by an extravagant lifestyle of which Epstein was to become a part.

He married Sarah Ferguson in 1986 in a high profile ceremony watched by an estimated 500 million people on TV and attended by a wide range of celebrity guests. The couple, who have two daughters — Beatrice and Eugenie — split in 1992. Ferguson also has multiple links to Epstein, admitting receiving money from him as far back as 2011, something she called a "gigantic error of judgment". Emails released in 2025 show she referred to him later in 2011 as a "steadfast, generous and supreme friend" after saying publicly she had cut ties.

What scandals has Andrew been involved in?

Clearly the biggest is his relationship with Epstein. The pair were first introduced by Epstein's fellow offender, Ghislaine Maxwell, and Epstein attended several events at royal properties in the UK.

Giuffre's accusations saw his stock sink in his home country before a bizarre and disastrous interview on the BBC's Newsnight programme in 2019 when he said he had no recollection of meeting Giuffre and, among other things, claimed that he never sweats. He initially stepped back from royal duties later that year before the gradual stripping back of his royal rights and titles.

Before that, he resigned as the UK's Special Representative for International Trade and Investment in 2011, following scrutiny of his expenses and questionable relationships with controversial figures from foreign governments including Libya and Saudi Arabia, as well as the early Epstein links. However, he continued to undertake official duties on behalf of his mother, Elizabeth II, until 2019.

His ties to a suspected Chinese spy were revealed in court documents in 2024, with security officials reportedly concerned by the man's influence on the then-prince.

Has anything like this happened in the British royal family before?

While many  British royals  of old faced imprisonment, and in some cases even execution — particularly amid the Wars of the Roses and the transitions between Catholic and Protestant monarchs — this is unprecedented for the modern royal family and the House of Windsor. 

Anne, the Princess Royal and Andrew's older sister, became the first member of the royal family to be convicted of a criminal offence in 2002, when she pleaded guilty to a charge under the dangerous dogs act.

Only the reigning monarch, in this case Charles, is protected by 'sovereign immunity', meaning no charges can be brought against him. As it stands, there are no charges against Prince Andrew, who remains in custody.

Edited by: Andreas Illmer