It seems that, sometimes, maybe, the rich and powerful are still liable to face some consequences of their actions. The BBC reports this morning that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the man formerly known as Prince Andrew, was arrested at Sandringham Estate in Norfolk at around 8 am local time on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Police are also searching his one-time home of Royal Lodge at Windsor Grant Park. According to the BBC, Andrew’s royal status should have no effect on how his case is assessed, and the palace was reportedly not warned in advance of his arrest. Andrew, who turns 66 today, could be held for up to 96 hours, but 12 to 24 is more likely as police conduct this investigation.
Andrew’s brother, King Charles, shared a statement following the news. “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,” he writes. “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. 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.”
Andrew’s connection to convicted child sex abuser Jeffrey Epstein has been a widely-reported topic for close to a decade. After Epstein’s death in 2019, Andrew sat for an immediately infamous interview with the BBC about his relationship with the man. In the interview, he made the particularly memorable claim that “I don’t sweat, or I didn’t sweat at the time” as part of his disavowal of knowing Virginia Giuffre. (This interview alone was the subject of multiple documentaries and docudramas in the following years.) Giuffre later filed a suit against Andrew in a U.S. federal court in 2022, which was settled out of court a month later. As the BBC points out today, Andrew’s arrest doesn’t particularly have anything to do with the existing claims of assault from Giuffre but from his relationship to Epstein. Andrew was formally stripped of his royal titles by King Charles last year.
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