INTERNATIONAL
- Former Prince Andrew was released from police custody last night after spending 11 hours in custody. But Police said the investigation is continuing into allegations of misconduct in public office.
- Today, Friday, more unmarked police vehicles arrived at Royal Lodge in Windsor to continue searching Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s previous home.
- Andrew was pictured returning to the Sandringham Estate after being released under investigation – this means Andrew is free to go as he pleases.
- The arrest on Thursday came after Thames Valley Police said they were assessing a complaint over the alleged sharing of confidential material by the former prince with late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
- Andrew had previously denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
Last night, the shell-shocked, disbelieving, haunted face of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will become part of how his arrest will be remembered.
It’s not a particularly edifying sight. Andrew was slumped in the back seat of a car after his release, fingers steepled, whether in prayer or protection.
His collar was up. For that matter, his collar had been felt. Was Andrew’s expression of shock how he looked when he had a mugshot photo taken in police custody?
It’ll become the counterpart of that other famous Andrew picture, taken almost 25 years ago, of a smiling confident prince, beside a 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre in a London townhouse, when the capital was his playground.
Former Prince Andrew after his release on Thursday night
Earlier, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had become the first senior member of the Royal Family in modern history to have been arrested. It was another catch your breath moment.
It was followed by an unprecedented statement from his brother, King Charles. “Let me state clearly: the law must take its course,” read the unambiguous statement from the King, offering no hiding place or royal get-out clause.
The arrest, on suspicion of misconduct in public office, relates to Andrew’s time as the UK’s trade representative between 2001 and 2011. It follows a series of allegations, prompted by the release of the Epstein files, that Andrew shared official documents.
That included sharing reports from trade visits and a confidential briefing on investment in Afghanistan with the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and passing a Treasury briefing to a personal business contact.
Being a member of the Royal Family will make no legal difference to how his case is assessed.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing in his associations with Epstein.
The no-nonsense police statement on Thursday morning was a bluntly worded news earthquake: “The man remains in police custody at this time.”
The action by the police on a winter’s morning in Norfolk was remarkable breaking news – and also appeared to have taken the King by surprise as much as anyone else.
But the story of Andrew’s links to Epstein has been decades in the making – and so has Andrew’s downfall, first chipping away at his reputation before turning into an avalanche of disgrace.
Police at the Royal Residence of former Prince Andrew today
The association with Epstein meant Andrew lost his trade envoy role in 2011, and after that disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019 he was removed as a working royal.
His retreat from public life became even more complete after his 2022 settlement with his accuser Virginia Giuffre.
And in October last year, as emails revealed that Andrew hadn’t ended his links with Epstein when he had claimed, he was stripped of his prince and duke titles, and eventually shuffled out of his Royal Lodge home at Windsor.
They were tough sanctions, removing any vestige of royal status.
The statement from the King will have sought to draw a line under this and separate the Royal Family from whatever might happen to Andrew.
Another important factor in all of this is the public mood. The Epstein files, and what they have revealed regarding a network of those apparently high in connections but low on morals, have left people feeling angry at such unaccountable power and wealth.
It has felt abusive to the public, that the rich and influential appear to have been immune from the consequences of their behaviour, be it in terms of either sex or money. It has seemed to the public that corruption paid.
Making the arrest even more resonant is that it happened on Andrew’s 66th birthday. Any candles would have to wait.
There are references to Andrew’s previous birthdays in the Epstein files, such as a glitzy bash for his 50th at St James’s Palace.
One person who had to turn down the invite for that night of “mysterious mischief” was Jeffrey Epstein, who was still under house arrest as part of a sentence for procuring a minor for prostitution.
Andrew celebrated his birthday 12 months ago as Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Knight of the Garter. Who knows what will have changed by his next birthday.
-FRANCIS JOSEPH
