The British Monarchy On Thursday (19 February 2026), former Prince Andrew was arrested by the police in the case related to Jeffrey Epstein, after which he was kept in custody for questioning for several hours. In British history, such action against a senior member of the royal family is considered very strange. The surprising thing is that Prince Andrew was arrested on the day of his 66th birthday.

At around 8am on Thursday morning, police raided Andrew’s new residence on the royal Sandringham estate in Norfolk and took him into custody. “A 60-year-old man from Norfolk has been arrested on suspicion of abuse of public office,” Thames Valley Police said in an official statement. As per the rules in Britain, the police did not make the name public. By evening, police confirmed that the arrested person had been released pending investigation. Although the search operation in Norfolk has been completed, investigations are continuing at another property in Berkshire, believed to be Andrew’s former residence Royal Lodge.

statement of king charles iii

King Charles III issued a written statement immediately after the incident. He said, ‘The law should be allowed to take its course.’ He also assured that Buckingham Palace will provide full cooperation to the police. Although the matter was serious, King Charles continued with his scheduled public appearances, including the opening of London Fashion Week. This was seen as an attempt to maintain the stability and normalcy of the monarchy. Andrew was stripped of his royal titles last year and was also removed from his official residence in Windsor. Despite this, he still remains at eighth place in the list of succession.

Controversy related to Jeffrey Epstein

Andrew’s name has been linked to the Jeffrey Epstein case for a long time. Recently unsealed documents claim he sent potentially confidential reports to Epstein when he was Britain’s trade envoy in 2010. These reports are said to include information related to official visits to Asian countries. Epstein was convicted in the US in 2008 of soliciting a minor for prostitution. He died in jail in 2019.

Legal consequences and possible punishment

In Britain, the allegation of Misconduct in Public Office is considered serious. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, the maximum punishment for this crime can be life imprisonment. At least nine British police forces are reviewing documents related to Epstein, many of which are said to be related to Andrew. Recently, after the files released by the US Justice Department, the scope of investigation has increased further.

British police have arrested former Prince Andrews Mountbatten, younger brother of Britain’s King Charles-III, on suspicion of abuse of office. Recently his name has appeared in the American Epstein files. He has been accused of sexual exploitation in a document released by the US Department of Justice. His name is included in the list of 11 well-known people released by the FBI in 2025.

What are the allegations against Andrews Mountbatten?

The allegations made against Andrew Mountbatten Windsor in the FBI briefing include several allegations against Andrew of being linked to the Epstein network in the slide listed. A woman had claimed that because of Prince Andrew’s friendship with Epstein’s associate Ghislaine Maxwell, Prince Andrew was asked to do the work related to this sex crime to please him. Apart from this, another allegation was made that Andrew used to travel in Epstein’s private jet.

Apart from this, another claim was made, in which it was said that she had seen Andrew dancing with a woman on Epstein’s private Caribbean island Little St. James. Another document claimed that Steve Scully had seen Prince Andrew having sex with a girl on Epstein’s island. However, no evidence was presented to confirm this.

Names of many well-known personalities including Trump

The FBI had mentioned the names of many high profile people in this list in its briefing. Apart from Trump and Andrew, these included former US President Bill Clinton, film producer Harvey Weinstein, financier Leon Black and retail billionaire Les Wexner. However, many people have denied these allegations.

What are the Epstein files?

The Epstein files are a trove of millions of documents, images, videos and emails. In this, the activities of American financier and child abuse convict Jeffrey Epstein have been exposed. It also includes names of public figures, politicians and celebrities. These documents have been released by the Justice Department under a law passed by the American MP.