THE former prince Andrew has been arrested under suspicion of misconduct in public office.
The royal had been under renewed scrutiny since the publication of the "Epstein files" in the US suggested he had leaked his paedophile friend sensitive government documents.
Plain-clothes officers were seen outside Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, where Andrew has been living, earlier on Thursday, which is also the disgraced royal's birthday.
Police statement on Andrew arrest
The arrest comes after Thames Valley Police said it was looking as “quickly as possible” into claims that Andrew had shared confidential reports from his role as the UK’s trade envoy with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The force said on Thursday: "As part of the investigation [into misconduct in public office], 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.”
In guidance released below the official statement, the police added: "In UK law, an arrest requires police to have reasonable grounds to suspect an offence has taken place and reasonable grounds for believing that it is necessary to arrest the person in question."
The guidance finished: "Thames Valley Police will not be making any further statement at this time and will not be holding a press conference or conducting any media interviews in relation to this investigation."
In his own statement on the arrest of his younger brother, King Charles said the "law must take its course".
The allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Emails released by the US Department of Justice earlier this month appear to show the former duke sharing reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Singapore with his paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein.
One email, dated November 2010, was forwarded by Andrew just five minutes after being sent by his then-special adviser, Amir Patel.
Additionally, on Christmas Eve 2010, Andrew looped Epstein in on a confidential brief on investment opportunities in the reconstruction of Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Epstein had been convicted of soliciting sex from girls as young as 14 in 2008.
Graham Smith, chief executive of anti-monarchy campaign group Republic, said he had reported the allegations to the police.
“I cannot see any significant difference between these allegations and those against Peter Mandelson," Smith said at the time.
Andrew's arrest means the case is now "active" in terms of the contempt of court act, which means limits are placed on what the press and public can say about the case. People have been reminded not to share any comment which could prejudice the outcome of a fair trial.
Previously, the former prince told the BBC that he had not talked to Epstein since December 2010.
However, emails published in January 2025, court documents filed by the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) showed that he had sent Epstein an email in February 2011 saying: "Keep in close touch and we'll play some more soon!!!!"
Andrew has vehemently denied any wrongdoing.
The other police investigations
The Thames Valley Police investigation which has led to Andrew's arrest is separate to probes into private flights to and from Stansted Airport and trafficking, which were also launched following the publication of millions of files relating to the paedophile financier Epstein.
Former prime minister Gordon Brown claimed that the files showed in “graphic detail” how Epstein was able to use the Essex-based airport to “fly in girls from Latvia, Lithuania and Russia”.
Brown said that files showed Epstein’s jet – the so-called Lolita Express – making 90 flights to or from UK airports, including 15 after his 2008 conviction for soliciting prostitution from a child.
The politician said Epstein “boasted” about how cheap the airport charges were in Stansted compared to Paris.
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He said it seemed as though authorities “never knew what was happening”, referring to evidence uncovered by the BBC which showed “incomplete flight logs, with unnamed passengers simply labelled as ‘female'”.
He wrote in an article for The New Statesman: “In short, British authorities had little or no idea who was being trafficked through our country, and for whom other than Epstein.”
An Essex Police spokesperson said: “We are assessing the information that has emerged in relation to private flights into and out of Stansted Airport following the publication of the US DoJ (Department of Justice) Epstein files.”
West Midlands Police reportedly said officers would assess information about flights that passed through Birmingham Airport, according to The Times, while Bedfordshire Police are reportedly looking into Luton flights.
Elsewhere, Surrey Police have urged people with information to come forward about claims of human trafficking and sexual assault from the 1990s.
The force said the alleged offending, set out in a redacted report released by the US Department of Justice in December, took place in Virginia Water between 1994 and 1996.
Its call for witnesses followed an FBI report from July 2020 which appeared in the files, in which somebody alleged they were drugged at night and driven to “paedophile ring parties” in the mid 1990s.
The same person also claims to have been hit by a dark blue car “driven by Prince Andrew” in which they allegedly suffered injuries to their ribs, hip and leg.
Police said they have found no evidence of allegations being reported to them after reviewing their systems.
The Metropolitan Police said “initial inquiries into these specific allegations have begun” regarding protection officers after concerns from one unnamed officer that some turned a “blind eye” to Andrew’s visits to Epstein’s island, Little St James, in the US Virgin Islands.
