Prince Andrew arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office – on his 66th birthday

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, according to the BBC.

This comes after plainclothes police officers were seen arriving at Sandringham in patrol cars which arrived at King Charles’ Norfolk estate just after 8am this morning. The former Prince, who turns 66 today, is living on the estate after his brother, King Charles, evicted him from his home of 22 years, Royal Lodge, following his links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. 

His arrest comes after the Metropolitan Police said on Wednesday that it is carrying out “initial inquiries” into allegations relating to close protection officers formerly assigned to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

In a statement, the Met said it had “not identified any wrongdoing” but “initial enquiries into these specific allegations have begun so we can establish the facts”.

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William’s wish

The events come after it was revealed that Prince William allegedly wanted Andrew to be “completely exiled” from life in the royal family. 

In his new book William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story, written by the Daily Mirror’s royal editor, Russell Myers, Russell claims that William wanted to take a very firm stance against Andrew following the settling of Virginia’s civil suit against him.

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“The moment came ahead of William and his wife, the Princess of Wales, touring the Caribbean in 2022. Russell wrote: “The backdrop of the tour, however, would not be a positive one for the royal family. The turn of the year into 2022 brought two other huge distractions. The Duke of York was fighting a civil lawsuit in the United States brought by Virginia Giuffre, while Harry announced he was to challenge the Metropolitan Police’s decision to strip him of his taxpayer-funded security when returning to to the UK.

“Both were seen as extraordinarily risky moves, for hugely different reasons. Talks gathered at pace concerning Andrew’s ‘ultimate gamble’ of demanding to be tried by a jury in the case. In private, William again voiced his concerns to his father that his disgraced uncle should seek to settle the case to avoid further scandal. The duke would eventually choose to settle with Giuffre for £12 million on 14 February, £2 million of which was set as a donation to her personal charity for sex-abuse victims.”

Russell continued: “Regardless of Andrew’s vehement denials of the allegations that he assaulted Giuffre, William and Charles agreed that he should never be allowed to return to public duties. One palace insider told how William went even further, suggesting his uncle should not be welcomed to any event with the royal family, which was overruled by the Prince of Wales [Charles’ title at the time].”