BREAKING: Former Prince Andrew Arrested in Expanding Epstein Investigation

In a stunning development that has sent shockwaves through the United Kingdom and beyond, the man formerly known as Prince Andrew — now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — has reportedly been arrested by British authorities in connection with the Jeffrey Epstein scandal.

According to multiple reports, Mountbatten-Windsor was taken into custody Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office tied to his previous role as the United Kingdom’s special trade envoy.

France24 reported that, prior to the arrest, Thames Valley Police had said they were “assessing” allegations that in 2010, while serving as trade envoy, Andrew passed official reports to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

“Local media said six unmarked police cars and around eight plain clothed officers arrived at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk, eastern England, where the king’s brother now lives,” the outlet reported.

BBC correspondent Lucy Manning stated her “understanding is that there’s been a very significant development in the investigation into the Epstein files” involving “documents from when he was a trade envoy, that are alleged to have been passed to Epstein.”

“My understanding is that this arrest is just about the misconduct in public office and obviously a very significant moment that the former prince has been arrested,” she added.

As of approximately 6 a.m. Eastern Time (11 a.m. U.K. time), many questions remained unanswered — including the precise nature of the evidence prompting the arrest and the specific legal grounds for his detention. The arrest notably came on Mountbatten-Windsor’s 66th birthday.

Video circulating on social media appears to show the scene:

A Long-Unraveling Royal Scandal

Mountbatten-Windsor’s association with Epstein dates back to the late 1990s. Despite Epstein’s 2008 conviction and controversial plea deal in the United States, the relationship continued — including a publicized meeting in New York in 2009 following Epstein’s release from prison.

By 2010, tabloid photographs and mounting scrutiny from British media outlets intensified public pressure, linking Andrew to Epstein and his longtime associate, Ghislaine Maxwell. Within a year, Andrew’s position as the U.K.’s special trade envoy was terminated, with the royal admitting he had exercised poor judgment.

The controversy deepened in 2015 when court documents from Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit against Epstein alleged that she was trafficked to Andrew while underaged. The case also reignited scrutiny of Epstein’s earlier plea deal in Florida — a deal that had drawn criticism toward then–U.S. Attorney Alex Acosta, later nominated by President Donald J. Trump, the current President of the United States, to serve as Secretary of Labor during Trump’s first term.

Epstein died, allegedly from committed suicide, shortly after his May 2019 arrest on federal sex trafficking charges.

Later that year, Mountbatten-Windsor gave a widely criticized interview to the BBC’s “Newsnight,” attempting to refute Giuffre’s claims. During the interview, he asserted that the allegations could not be true because he had been at a Pizza Express restaurant in a London suburb on the date a photograph of the two was allegedly taken.

He further claimed that he was unable to sweat due to a psychosomatic condition developed during his service in the Falklands War — a statement that clashed with Giuffre’s description of him during their alleged encounter:

The public backlash was swift. Shortly thereafter, the then–Duke of York announced he was “stepping back from public duties for the foreseeable future.”

Stripped of Titles and Status

In 2022, Mountbatten-Windsor reached a financial settlement with Giuffre, after which his royal standing was further diminished. His military affiliations and patronages were removed, and he was effectively sidelined from official royal functions.

In 2025, Giuffre passed away — but not before publishing a memoir in which she alleged she had multiple sexual encounters with Andrew while underaged and claimed that he guessed she was 17 at the time.

King Charles III ultimately stripped Andrew of all remaining royal titles and required him to vacate the Royal Lodge. The subsequent release of additional Epstein-related files placed renewed focus on Andrew’s past conduct and associations.

What Happens Next?

Under U.K. law, as the BBC reported, “suspects are held for 12 or 24 hours and are then either charged or released pending further investigation.”

The outlet added that “the absolute longest the former prince can be held for is 96 hours – but this would require multiple extensions from senior police officers and a Magistrate’s Court.”

Policing commentator Danny Shaw told the BBC that Mountbatten-Windsor would likely be held in “a cell in a custody suite” equipped with “a bed and a toilet” while awaiting police interviews.

The arrest represents a rare and extraordinary moment in British constitutional history — the detention of a senior royal figure tied to one of the most notorious sex trafficking scandals in modern memory. As the Epstein files continue to reverberate globally, questions about elite accountability and institutional protection are once again front and center.

Whether this marks a turning point in the long-running Epstein saga remains to be seen. But one thing is clear: the fallout is far from over.