Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public workplace, police confirmed after they detained him at his Sandringham dwelling.
Thames Valley Police confirmed the arrest on Thursday following allegations made in opposition to the previous prince after the discharge of tens of millions of pages of recordsdata associated to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew is the primary senior royal determine in trendy historical past to be arrested.
On Thursday morning, a number of unmarked police vehicles attended Wooden Farm on the Sandringham Property in Norfolk, with plain-clothed officers gathering outdoors Andrew’s dwelling on his 66th birthday.
Thames Valley Police beforehand stated the drive was investigating claims that Andrew shared delicate data with Epstein whereas serving because the UK’s commerce envoy.
Searches are being carried out at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk, the drive additionally confirmed.
The King’s brother is successfully now not a royal, turning into a commoner after he was stripped by the monarch of each his proper to be a prince and his dukedom late final yr over his affiliation with Epstein.
He does, nevertheless, stay within the line of succession – he’s eighth in line to the throne, having step by step moved down after being born second in line.
Andrew was stripped of his royal titles final yr.
(Toby Melville, PA Pictures)
The complete police assertion
After Andrew’s arrest, Thames Valley Police stated: “Thames Valley Police has opened an investigation into the offence of misconduct in public workplace.
“As a part of the investigation, we now have right now (19/2) arrested a person in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public workplace and are finishing up searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk.
“The person stays in police custody presently.”
A person steps out of an unmarked automotive on the dwelling of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on 19 February, in Sandringham, Norfolk.
(Peter Nicholls through Getty Pictures)
Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright stated: “Following an intensive evaluation, we now have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public workplace.
“It will be important that we defend the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our companions to analyze this alleged offence.
“We perceive the numerous public curiosity on this case, and we’ll present updates on the acceptable time.”