Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on Thursday morning on suspicion of misconduct in public office and is currently in police custody.
Plain-clothed police officers were seen arriving at Sandringham, the King’s private estate in Norfolk, in patrol cars just after 8am. The former Prince, who turns 66 today, is living at Wood Farm Cottage after the King evicted him from his home of 22 years, Royal Lodge, in Windsor.
Andrew is now in custody, as police carry out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk, Thames Valley police said.
What happened at Andrew’s arrest
Six unmarked police cars and around eight plain clothed officers, with one carrying a police-issue laptop, were seen arriving at Wood Farm.
One of the cars drove down the front drive and the other five went in the back entrance to the five-bedroom farmhouse in the village of Wolferton.
An unmarked Norfolk police car was seen leaving around 30 minutes later, followed by another unmarked police car, then a third car containing Andrew’s security. It is not known whether Andrew was in the third car with his security team.
© Bav Media
© Bav MediaThames Valley Police statement
“As part of the investigation, we have today (19/2) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk.
The man remains in police custody at this time.
“We will not be naming the arrested man, as per national guidance. Please also remember that this case is now active so care should be taken with any publication to avoid being in contempt of court.”
Assistant Chief Constable 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. We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.”
Andrew is the first senior royal in modern history to be arrested.
Thames Valley Police previously said the force was reviewing allegations that a woman was trafficked to the UK by Jeffrey Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew, and claims he shared sensitive information with the paedophile while serving as the UK’s trade envoy.
His arrest comes after the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday that it is carrying out “initial inquiries” into allegations relating to close protection officers formerly assigned to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
In a statement, the Met said it had “not identified any wrongdoing” but “initial enquiries into these specific allegations have begun so we can establish the facts”.
Is Andrew still in the line of succession?
Andrew was stripped of all of his royal titles, styles and honours in a decision by the King in October. While he is no longer a Prince or the Duke of York, and has lost his HRH style, leaving him with the status of a commoner, Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne.
The former Prince’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, are unaffected by the changes to their father’s royal status. Beatrice and Eugenie remain ninth and 12th respectively in line to the throne, and retain their HRH styles.
Meanwhile, their mother, Sarah Ferguson, no longer uses her courtesy title of Duchess of York.
How long can Andrew be held for by the police?
According to the BBC, Danny Shaw, a policing commentator, said the longest Andrew could be held for is 96 hours. In most cases, suspects are held for 12 or 24 hours.
The royal will not be given any special treatment.
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