It was shortly after 8am on Thursday when a small fleet of unmarked police cars drew up at Wood Farm on the king’s private Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
Plainclothes officers stepped out into the late winter drizzle and readied themselves for a historic act that the royal family might have been expecting and dreading for weeks.
Inside the house, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was perhaps sitting down to a birthday breakfast.
On 19 February 1960 the Queen Elizabeth II gave birth to her third – and some say favourite and most indulged – child at Buckingham Palace.
Exactly 66 years later, Andrew – no longer a prince, and ostracised by many members of his family – was about to face the ignominy of being arrested and taken into police custody.
It was, said Maj Gen Alastair Bruce, a historian and royal watcher for Sky News, the “most shocking day for the British crown, to have a former prince of the blood arrested”. The arrest was “about as critical as the institution could face”, he added.
Other commentators described the arrest as extraordinary, unprecedented, spectacular and a body blow.
As the news of the royal arrest catapulted across the globe, the police embarked on searches at Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home at Royal Lodge in Windsor and properties in Norfolk.
Without naming the man at the centre of their actions, Thames Valley police said: “We have today arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office … The man remains in police custody at this time.”
Oliver Wright, an assistant chief constable with Thames Valley police, added: “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office.
“It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence.
“We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.”
The king had not been informed in advance of his brother’s arrest, although it can be expected that the news reached him quickly. After a short period of silence, Charles made his position crystal clear.
“The law must take its course,” he said in an official statement issued at noon. The police had the royal family’s “full and wholehearted support and cooperation”.
The king’s full statement was formal, perhaps necessarily so. It made reference to Andrew by his full name, without mentioning they were brothers.
“I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office.
“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.
“In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation. Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.
“As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter. Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.”
The Prince and Princess of Wales swiftly said they supported Charles’s statement. The prime minister had also been robust on the subject. “Nobody is above the law,” Starmer said hours before the arrest. Other senior politicians echoed the stance.

Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest came just short of three weeks after the US Department of Justice released millions of documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein, the US financier and convicted sex offender who died in prison before being tried on charges of sex trafficking.
Among Epstein’s vast network of powerful friends and associates was the former Prince Andrew.
The files are still being combed through for what they reveal about Epstein’s activities and associates. But among the early discoveries were emails that appear to show the former prince, then an official UK trade envoy, forwarding sensitive government documents and commercial information to Epstein.
One email, dated November 2010, appeared to be forwarded five minutes after being sent by Andrew’s then special adviser, Amir Patel. Another, on Christmas Eve 2010, appeared to send Epstein a confidential brief on investment opportunities in the reconstruction of Helmand province, Afghanistan.
Under official guidance, trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality over sensitive, commercial or political information about their official visits.
For an institution that prides itself on service to the nation and promoting Britain’s interests, the royal family’s discovery that Mountbatten-Windsor had allegedly used his official role as trade envoy to potentially benefit Epstein and his associates was a further huge blow.
Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
The former prince’s friendship with Epstein has been public knowledge for years. Virginia Giuffre’s claim that he had sex with her – facilitated by Epstein – when she was 17 was denied by Mountbatten-Windsor, even as he made an out-of-court settlement, reportedly worth £12m, with his accuser. Giuffre took her own life last year.
In a statement on Thursday, Giuffre’s family said their “broken hearts have been lifted with the news that no one is above the law – not even royalty …. He was never a prince. For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you.”
In November, after years of swirling allegations and rumours, King Charles finally took the strongest action available to him against his brother. Andrew was stripped of his title of “prince” and was given notice to vacate his 30-room home in Windsor that he occupied on a peppercorn rent. He was excluded from the traditional royal Christmas celebrations at Sandringham, and his daughters are thought to have cut off contact with him.
But the king, who has been heckled by members of the public over his brother’s actions in recent weeks, cannot take away his royal bloodline. Despite inflicting shame and scandal on the royals, and now potentially facing criminal charges, Mountbatten-Windsor remains eighth in line to the throne.
Earlier this month, Mountbatten-Windsor moved temporarily into nearby Wood Farm, the scene of Thursday’s arrest, while his new home on the Sandringham estate, well away from the public eye, is being prepared.
On Thursday morning, Mountbatten-Windsor is likely to have been taken from Wood Farm to a police station to be interviewed under criminal caution while police carried out searches. Officers are likely to be looking for computers, phones and other devices that could yield evidence in the form of emails, texts and images.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s lawyer or lawyers will have swiftly abandoned their plans for the day in order to assist their client. They may have advised him to decline to answer questions at this stage.
But the police are likely to have carefully prepared for Thursday’s arrest, including consulting the Crown Prosecution Service about the strength of available evidence.
Misconduct in a public office is a complex charge, Wendy Joseph KC told BBC Radio 4’s World at One. “You have to prove he ‘wilfully misconducted’ himself. There are quite a few hurdles that need to be crossed,” she said.
According to the CPS website, misconduct in public life carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Police will decide whether to detain Mountbatten-Windsor overnight, whether they have enough to charge him with a criminal offence, whether to take no further action, or whether to release him while their inquiries continue.
Members of the royal family have had minor brushes with the law before, such as Princess Anne being fined under the Dangerous Dogs Act in 2002. But Thursday’s arrest was the first of a senior member of the royal family in modern history.
The last royal arrest was in 1647 during the English civil war, when Charles I was detained by forces aligned with parliament. He was convicted of high treason and executed on 30 January 1649.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: theguardian.com






