Police search former Prince Andrew’s home a day after his arrest over links to Epstein

LONDON — Police again searched the former home of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on Friday, a day after he was arrested and held in custody for nearly 11 hours on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his friendship with now-convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

After one of the most tumultuous days in the modern history of the British royal family, the former Prince Andrew is back at his new residence at the Sandringham estate, the private residence of King Charles III, about 115 miles north of London.

Police have completed their search at Wood Farm, where Mountbatten-Windsor is living as he waits for his new home nearby, Marsh Farm, to be completed.

They are still searching Royal Lodge, his 30-room former home in the park near Windsor Castle, just west of the capital, where the king’s younger brother had lived for decades until his expulsion earlier this month. Unmarked vans, probably police vehicles, drove onto the site all Friday morning.

Mountbatten-Windsor, who was pictured in the back of his chauffeur-driven car after his release from a police station near Sandringham on Thursday evening, remains under investigation, meaning he has not been charged or cleared by Thames Valley Police, the force responsible for areas west of London.

The arrest lasted for years

His arrest follows years of accusations about his ties to Epstein, who committed suicide in a New York prison in 2019. The accusation underlying his arrest is that Mountbatten-Windsor – who was known as Prince Andrew until October, when his brother stripped him of his titles and honors and expelled him from the Royal Lodge – shared confidential business information with the disgraced financier when he was trade envoy to Britain.

Specifically, emails released by the US Department of Justice last month showed Mountbatten-Windsor shared reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore.

One, dated November 2010, turned out to have been forwarded by Andrew five minutes after he received it. Another instance, a few weeks later, appeared to show him sending Epstein a confidential letter about investment opportunities in the reconstruction of Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

Thames Valley Police previously said it was also investigating allegations that a woman was trafficked to the United Kingdom by Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew. Thursday’s arrest had nothing to do with that.

Other police forces are also conducting their own investigations into Epstein’s links to Britain, including reviewing flight logs at major and minor airports.

Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing in his association with Epstein, but has not commented on the latest allegations to emerge with the release of the so-called Epstein files.

The arrest was sudden, investigation will take time

Police entered the grounds of Mountbatten-Windsor’s home to arrest him at 8am on Thursday – his 66th birthday – before taking him to Aylsham police station for questioning.

It is not known what he told them. He may have said nothing, or ‘no comment’, as is his right.

Experts say misconduct in public office is notoriously difficult to prove.

“First, it must be determined whether Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor fulfilled a role within the government that constitutes the title of public official,” said Sean Caulfield, a criminal defense attorney at Hodge Jones & Allen. “There is no standard definition that we can clearly draw from.”

Britain’s then Prince Andrew (center) and his daughters Princess Eugenie (left) and Princess Beatrice leave Westminster Abbey after Prince William’s wedding to Catherine Middleton in London, April 29, 2011.

Gero Breloer/AP

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Gero Breloer/AP

The Crown Prosecution Service will ultimately make a decision on charges against Mountbatten-Windsor, who remains eighth in line to the throne.

Andrew Gilmore, partner at Grosvenor Law, said prosecutors will apply the two-stage test known as the ‘Code for Crown Prosecutors’.

“That test is intended to determine whether there is a more realistic prospect of a conviction than not based on the evidence and whether the case is in the public interest,” he said. “If these two tests are met, the case will be charged and brought to trial.”

Arrest is not only unusual, it is historic

Mountbatten-Windsor was the first royal family since King Charles I, almost four centuries ago, to be placed under arrest. That became a seismic moment in British history, leading to civil war, the beheading of Charles and the temporary abolition of the monarchy.

His arrest is undoubtedly one of the most serious crises to hit the House of Windsor since its founding more than 100 years ago. It is likely that only the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936 and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997, have had as serious an impact on the institution of the British monarchy in modern times.

While the King and Royal Family will carry out their normal duties as normal, questions surrounding Mountbatten-Windsor will remain, not least because the investigations are likely to take time.

In a statement Thursday, the king said the “law must take its course,” but that as “this process continues, it would not be appropriate for me to comment further on this matter.”

The charges are not related to Epstein’s sex trafficking

The allegations being investigated Thursday are separate from those of Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was trafficked to Britain in 2001, when she was just 17, to have sex with the prince. Giuffre died by suicide last year.

Still, Giuffre’s sister-in-law Amanda Roberts said she was overjoyed when she got a phone call at 3 a.m. with news of the arrest. But those feelings of elation were soon complicated by the realization that she couldn’t share the feelings of “justification” with Giuffre.

“We can’t tell her how much we love her and that everything she did was not in vain,” Roberts added through tears.