The Thames Valley Police arrested the 66-year-old former prince as part of an investigation tied to his past role as the United Kingdom’s trade envoy and his association with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein at the time. 

Authorities are examining information contained in the Department of Justice’s Epstein disclosures that show alleged misconduct during Mountbatten-Windsor’s decade as trade envoy from 2001 until 2011. Last week, the DOJ confirmed the former prince gave confidential trade information to Epstein. 

“As part of the investigation, we have today (19/2) arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk,” the Thames Valley Police said in a statement. “The man remains in police custody at this time. We will not be naming the arrested man, as per national guidance.”

Mountbatten-Windsor has acknowledged he knew Epstein but has denied wrongdoing. In 2019, he stepped back from public royal duties following widespread criticism over a televised interview in which he addressed his friendship with Epstein.

In 2022, he reached a settlement in a U.S. civil lawsuit brought by Virginia Giuffre, in which he denied the allegations of sexual abuse. 

WHAT THE DOJ’S EPSTEIN FILES SAID ABOUT PRINCE ANDREW

President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest is “very sad” and “very bad” for the British royal family. Trump also claimed that he has been exonerated of any involvement with Epstein. 

During a 2015 conversation with Bloomberg Politics, Trump called Epstein’s private island a “cesspool” and said if people want to know about it, “ask Prince Andrew, he’ll tell you about it.”