Aylsham, England, February 19, 2026 Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, brother of Britain’s King Charles, formerly known as Prince Andrew, leaves Aylsham Police Station in his car on the day he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. After the US Department of Justice released more records related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Phil Noble | Reuters
British police on Thursday released Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, a former prince and brother of King Charles III, after arresting him on suspicion of misconduct in office.
The details of the investigation have not been disclosed. But Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest comes after renewed attention was focused on his past friendship with the late notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein after the US Department of Justice released millions of documents about him.
Thames Valley Police, who arrested Mountbatten-Windsor without disclosing his identity, said they were reviewing reports that Mountbatten-Windsor sent confidential trade reports to Epstein in 2010 when he was Britain’s international trade envoy.
“On Thursday we arrested a man in his 60s from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in a public office,” Thames Valley Police said in a statement.
Police said, “The arrested man has been released following investigation.” “We can also confirm that the search in Norfolk has concluded. The search in Berkshire is still ongoing.”
“It is with deep concern that I learned of the news of Mr. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his alleged misconduct in public office,” King Charles said in a statement Thursday following his brother’s arrest.
“There will now follow a full, fair and appropriate process by which this matter will be investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities,” the Crown said. “Let me be clear: the law should move in that direction.”
President Donald Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Thursday that Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest was “shameful.”
Trump, himself a former friend of Epstein, said: “I think it’s very sad. I think it’s very bad for the royal family. It’s very, very sad. To me, this is very sad.”
Prince Charles stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his title as prince and kicked him out of his home near Windsor Castle in October over his relationship with Epstein, who committed suicide in August 2019 after being arrested on federal child sex trafficking charges in New York.
Mountbatten-Windsor denies any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, including allegations that he sexually assaulted Epstein’s known victim, Virginia Giuffre, when she was 17 years old.
In February 2022, Ms. Mountbatten-Windsor privately reached a settlement with Ms. Giuffre in a lawsuit in New York federal court related to these allegations, without admitting wrongdoing.
But he agreed at the time to make a so-called “significant donation to Ms. Giuffre’s charity supporting victims’ rights,” and in a statement he regretted his association with Mr. Epstein and praised the “courage of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.”
Giuffre died by suicide in April last year.
“Today is just the beginning of accountability and justice delivered by Virginia Roberts Giuffre,” Epstein’s victim Maria Farmer said in a statement Thursday after Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest. “A young mother who loved her daughter deeply and fought against the most powerful men on earth to protect her. She did it for all daughters.”
“Now is the time to demand that all the dominoes of power and corruption fall,” Farmer said.
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