Police searched the former home of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for a second time on Friday, a day after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The arrest, related to his friendship with the late Jeffrey Epstein, lasted nearly 11 hours and has prompted the British government to reconsider formally removing him from the line of succession to the crown.
Despite already being stripped of his royal titles and military affiliations, Mountbatten-Windsor remains eighth in line to the throne. While previous discussions about removing him from the line of succession were dismissed as an inefficient use of parliamentary time, the government is now revisiting the possibility following the arrest. Chief Secretary to the Treasury James Murray stated the government is “considering any further steps that might be required, and we’re not ruling anything out,” according to reports.
The last instance of a royal being removed from the line of succession occurred in 1936, following the abdication of King Edward VIII, which necessitated legislative changes. Removing Mountbatten-Windsor would as well require the consent of more than a dozen Commonwealth countries where the British monarch serves as head of state, including Canada, Australia, and Jamaica.
Following his release from police custody on Thursday evening, Mountbatten-Windsor returned to the Sandringham estate, King Charles III’s private retreat, located approximately 185 kilometers north of London. He is currently residing at Wood Farm while awaiting the completion of renovations at nearby Marsh Farm. Police completed their search of Wood Farm on Friday.
The search continues at Royal Lodge, his former residence near Windsor Castle, where he lived for decades before being asked to leave earlier this month. Unmarked vans, believed to be police vehicles, were observed entering the grounds throughout Friday morning.
The arrest stems from allegations that Mountbatten-Windsor, while serving as a trade envoy for the UK, shared confidential trade information with Epstein. Emails released by the US Department of Justice last month appear to show Mountbatten-Windsor forwarding official reports regarding visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Singapore to Epstein. One email, dated November 2010, was reportedly forwarded by Mountbatten-Windsor just five minutes after he received it. Another email detailed investment opportunities in the reconstruction of Helmand Province, Afghanistan.
Thames Valley Police has also previously reviewed allegations that Epstein trafficked a woman to the UK for a sexual encounter with Mountbatten-Windsor, but Thursday’s arrest was not directly related to that investigation.
Alongside the Thames Valley Police investigation, other police forces are examining Epstein’s broader connections to the UK, including reviewing airport flight logs. These efforts are being coordinated through a national task force. London’s Metropolitan Police announced Friday it is assessing, with assistance from US authorities, whether London airports, including Heathrow, were used to facilitate human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
The Metropolitan Police is also requesting that current and former officers who provided protection to Mountbatten-Windsor review their recollections for any information relevant to the ongoing investigations. As of Friday, no new criminal allegations regarding sexual offenses within its jurisdiction have been reported.
Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing in his association with Epstein and has not yet publicly commented on the recent allegations.
Legal experts note that proving misconduct in public office can be challenging. Sean Caulfield, a criminal defense lawyer at Hodge Jones &. Allen, explained that it must first be established whether Mountbatten-Windsor held a position within government that qualifies as a “public officer,” a definition that lacks a clear standard. Andrew Gilmore, a partner at Grosvenor Law, added that prosecutors will apply a two-stage test to determine if there is a realistic prospect of conviction and whether prosecution is in the public interest.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest marks a historic moment, being the first time a royal has been arrested in nearly four centuries, since King Charles I. The event represents one of the most significant crises facing the British monarchy in modern times, comparable in gravity to the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936 and the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, in 1997.
The King issued a statement Thursday stating, “the law must take its course,” but declined to comment further while the process is ongoing. The investigations are expected to be lengthy, and the royal family intends to continue its normal duties.
The allegations under investigation on Thursday are separate from those made by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged she was trafficked to the UK for sexual encounters with Mountbatten-Windsor in 2001. Giuffre died by suicide last year. Amanda Roberts, Giuffre’s sister-in-law, expressed a mix of joy and sorrow upon learning of the arrest, stating, “People can’t tell her how much we love her, and that everything that she was doing is not in vain.”
