Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the disgraced brother of King Charles III who was stripped of his titles last year over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, was arrested by U.K. police on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
After nearly 12 hours in custody, he was photographed leaving the police station that evening, sitting in the back of a vehicle.
King Charles confirmed the arrest in a statement that morning expressing his “deepest concern.”
“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 said. “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.”
Thames Valley Police had said in a statement that authorities arrested “a man in his sixties from Norfolk” but declined to name him.
“We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time,” the police said.
Mountbatten-Windsor turned 66 on Thursday.
It’s unclear what allegations are being investigated against Mountbatten-Windsor. Earlier this month, Thames Valley Police said they were probing claims that he sent confidential trade information to Epstein after the Justice Department released documents related to the financier that included emails between the two men.
MS NOW has reached out to Mountbatten-Windsor’s spokesperson for comment.
Ahead of the former prince’s arrest, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the BBC that “nobody is above the law,” though he stopped short of saying that Mountbatten-Windsor should turn himself in.
Mountbatten-Windsor has long been dogged by his close relationship with Epstein. He faced allegations of sexual misconduct from Virginia Giuffre, who said that she was forced to have sex with the former prince. Her civil lawsuit against him was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum in 2022.
Mountbatten-Windsor has denied Giuffre’s allegations. She died by suicide last year.
Giuffre’s family thanked the Thames Valley Police for the former prince’s arrest in a statement.
“Today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty,” they said.
“He was never a prince,” her family added. “For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you.”
Mountbatten-Windsor also appeared prominently in the Epstein files released by the Justice Department. Earlier this month, a second woman alleged that Epstein trafficked her to Mountbatten-Windsor at the former prince’s residence on the grounds of Windsor Castle. He has not publicly responded to that accusation.
There has been extensive blowback over the DOJ’s Epstein files release in Europe, though Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest appears to be the starkest consequence yet for a high-profile figure connected to the financier.
The fallout in the U.K. has been in stark contrast to the relative lack of repercussions in the U.S., where lawmakers, rather than top federal law enforcement officials, have led the charge to investigate individuals named in the documents. Though several private sector leaders with Epstein ties have been fired or resigned in recent months, Trump administration officials named in the files have remained in their roles so far.
Several members of Congress on Thursday questioned what they said was a lack of accountability from the Trump administration.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., one of the co-sponsors of the legislation that compelled the Justice Department to release those files, said in a post on X on Thursday that the arrest “was the metric I established for success” of the bill.
“Now we need JUSTICE in the United States,” Massie wrote, urging Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to take action.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., blasted the DOJ’s handling of the files as a “travesty” on X and asked, “When will there be justice in America?”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
Clarissa-Jan Lim is a breaking news reporter for MS NOW. She was previously a senior reporter and editor at BuzzFeed News.