Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former prince who was stripped of his royal titles because of his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, was released from police custody on Thursday.
Andrew was arrested earlier Thursday, his 66th birthday, on suspicion of misconduct in public office over allegations he sent confidential government documents to Epstein.
He left Aylsham Police Station after approximately 11 hours in custody, where he had been questioned all day by detectives from Thames Valley Police.
Thames Valley Police said a man in his 60s from Norfolk in eastern England was arrested on Thursday. The force, which covers areas west of London, including Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home, did not identify the suspect — in line with standard procedures in Britain — but pointed to the statement when asked to confirm if the former prince was arrested.
In a followup statement, Thames Valley Police said the “arrested man has now been released under investigation.”
Police said they had finished searching Mountbatten-Windsor’s home, but officers were still searching his former residence near Windsor Castle.
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A Reuters photograph, taken after Mountbatten-Windsor’s release, shows him sitting low inside a car leaving the station near his home on the royal Sandringham Estate.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, younger brother of Britain’s King Charles, formerly known as Prince Andrew, leaves Aylsham Police Station in a vehicle on the day he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
REUTERS/Phil Noble
Police previously said they were “assessing” reports that Mountbatten-Windsor sent trade information to Epstein, a wealthy investor and convicted sex offender, in 2010, when the former prince was Britain’s special envoy for international trade. Correspondence between the two men was released by the U.S. Justice Department late last month, along with millions of pages of documents from the American investigation into Epstein.
While Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with his friendship with Epstein, concerns about his links to the late financier have dogged the Royal Family for more than a decade.
At the time of Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, Assistant Chief Const. 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,” he added.
“We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.”
Hours after Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested, his brother King Charles II released a statement, saying, “I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office.”
“What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities,” Charles said in a statement on Thursday.
“In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation. Let me state clearly: the law must take its course,” he continued. “As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter.”
“Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.”
Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest was the first time in nearly four centuries that a senior British royal was placed under arrest, and it underscored how deference to the monarchy has eroded in recent years.
The allegations being investigated Thursday are separate from those made by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was trafficked to Britain to have sex with the prince in 2001, when she was just 17. Giuffre died by suicide last year.
Still, Giuffre’s family praised the arrest, saying that their “broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty.”
The family added: “He was never a prince. For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you.”
— With files from The Associated Press
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