Why was former Prince Andrew arrested by UK police? 

King Charles’s younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has been released after his arrest over allegations of misconduct in public office, becoming the first senior British royal in modern history to face arrest.

Mountbatten-Windsor, who turned 66 on Thursday, was questioned by detectives from Thames Valley Police about his links to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The former prince has not been charged with a crime. Under United Kingdom law, police generally have about 24 hours to charge a suspect or release them pending further investigation.

In this case, he was released under investigation.

So what do we know about this case and the former prince’s arrest?

Who is Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor?

Born on February 19, 1960, Andrew is the third child and second son of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.

Andrew pursued a military career. He served for 22 years in the Royal Navy, flying helicopters in combat during the 1982 Falklands War.

Later, he spent a decade as a UK trade envoy between 2001 and 2011, a period that is under renewed scrutiny due to revelations about his long-term friendship with Epstein, who was jailed in 2008 for child sex offences.

In January, the United States Department of Justice released more than three million Epstein-related documents, including emails from Mountbatten-Windsor to Epstein. Some material suggests he shared official reports from a 2010 Southeast Asia trade trip with the financier.

“The fact that the former royal is in custody represents quite a stunning turn of events for the royal family,” Al Jazeera’s Camille Nedelec said, reporting from London.

“The former prince was at one time the favourite of the late queen, and now it’s the culmination of his slow descent into disgrace,” she added.

The arrest of the senior royal, eighth in line to the throne, is unprecedented in modern times.

Why was Mountbatten-Windsor arrested?

Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on “suspicion of misconduct in public office”, Thames Valley Police said.

Thames Valley Police said earlier in February it was “assessing” reports that Mountbatten-Windsor sent confidential trade reports to Epstein in 2010, when he was the UK’s special trade envoy.

The Norfolk police said they were supporting Thames Valley Police in the investigation.

Both forces are involved because his former residence, Royal Lodge in Windsor, falls under the jurisdiction of Thames Valley Police. He has since moved to Wood Farm on his brother’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, after King Charles asked him to leave the Windsor property on February 2.

Late on Thursday, the Thames Valley Police confirmed Mountbatten-Windsor was released and that the searches in Norfolk had concluded.

What is misconduct in public office?

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which oversees prosecutions in England and Wales, describes it as a criminal offence “that concerns serious wilful abuse or neglect of the power or responsibilities of the public office held”.

The CPS says the offence is committed when the following circumstances apply: a public officer acting as such wilfully neglects to perform their duty and/or wilfully misconducts themselves to such a degree as to amount to an abuse of the public’s trust in the office holder without reasonable excuse or justification.

In the case of Mountbatten-Windsor, police are investigating allegations that he shared with Epstein confidential government information that he had access to because he was a UK trade envoy.

He also held the title of prince at the time, but that is not relevant to the misconduct in the public office investigation.

A conviction for that offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, but sentences can also be much shorter, depending on the seriousness of the specific case.

What is Andrew’s connection to Jeffrey Epstein?

The former prince first became publicly linked to Epstein in the early 2000s.

The two were photographed together on several occasions, including in New York in 2010, after Epstein had already served a jail sentence in Florida for child sex offences.

Mountbatten-Windsor said he met Epstein through UK socialite Ghislaine Maxwell.

The association came under intense scrutiny in 2014 after accuser Virginia Giuffre alleged that she had been trafficked by Epstein and his associate Maxwell and forced to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor in the early 2000s when she was 17.

The former prince gave a widely criticised interview to the BBC’s Newsnight programme in November 2019, in which he denied wrongdoing and said he had “no recollection” of meeting Giuffre. Days later, he stepped back from public royal duties.

Giuffre filed a civil lawsuit against Mountbatten-Windsor in New York in 2021. In February 2022, the case was settled out of court, with the ex-prince making a financial settlement but admitting no liability. He was also stripped of his military titles.

Responding to Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, Giuffre’s family said they felt a sense of long-awaited accountability.

“At last, today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty,” Giuffre’s siblings said in a statement on Thursday. “He was never a prince.”

What has been King Charles’s reaction?

King Charles was seen arriving at the opening of London Fashion Week on Thursday – a public appearance that had been in his diary since well before the arrest.

“I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office,” Charles said in a statement.

“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. 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,” he added.