Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested LIVE updates: Former prince returns to Sandringham estate after being in custody for 11 hours; police ask protection officers what they ‘saw or heard’

Welcome to our rolling coverage of developments surrounding the shock arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Here’s the latest:

• Andrew was back at his residence on the Sandringham estate, following one of the most tumultuous days in the history of Britain’s royal family.
• Despite his release from custody, the 66-year-old remains under investigation for his ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He has neither been charged nor exonerated by Thames Valley Police.
• British politicians on Friday renewed calls for the disgraced former prince to be removed from the line of succession.
• Police also said they will be asking Andrew’s former protection officers what “they saw or heard” during their period of service.
• Officers were back at Andrew’s former residence, Royal Lodge in Berkshire, and could remain there until Monday.

• Unmarked vans, believed to be police vehicles, were seen entering the grounds throughout Friday morning. There’s been no sign of the former prince since his release from custody and return to Sandringham in Norfolk last night.

Slumped in the back seat of his Range Rover, a visibly shaken man once referred to as the “Playboy Prince” stares ahead as the car leaves Aylsham police station in Norfolk, England.

The photo, taken by Reuters photographer Phil Noble, went viral when it was published late on Thursday (local time). It shows Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles, after he was released from police custody following a day of questioning.

When news that Mountbatten-Windsor had been arrested broke early on Thursday, Manchester-based Noble began the six-hour drive south to Norfolk.

Following a tip, Noble headed to the police station in the historic market town of Aylsham, where not much was going on. There were a couple of other members of the media there, and soon enough, six or seven hours went by. Darkness fell. Still, nothing was happening. It seemed like this was the wrong station – after all, it was well over an hour’s drive from Mountbatten-Windsor’s Norfolk home.

Noble packed up and started heading down the road towards his hotel when he got a call from his colleague, Reuters video journalist Marissa Davison. Mountbatten-Windsor’s cars had arrived, she said.

Noble raced back, just in time to see the two vehicles leaving at high speed. The front car contained two police officers, so Noble aimed his camera and flash at the car behind.

He took six frames – two showed police, two were blank, and one was out of focus. But one captured the unprecedented nature of the moment: for the first time in modern history, a senior royal was being treated as a common criminal. The image was used extensively by media worldwide.

“You can plan and use your experience and know roughly what you need to do, but still everything needs to align,” said Noble. “When you’re doing car shots it’s more luck than judgment.”

Reuters

The UK’s Metropolitan Police have asked Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s protection officers to consider what they “saw or heard” while working for him.

The force released a lengthy statement, titled “Update on Met Police activity following Epstein files release”, at 4pm on Friday local time (3am Saturday AEDT).

“The Met is identifying and contacting former and serving officers who may have worked closely, in a protection capacity, with Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor,” it said.

“They have been asked to consider carefully whether anything they saw or heard during that period of service may be relevant to our ongoing reviews and to share any information that could assist us.”

Welcome to our rolling coverage of developments surrounding the shock arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Here’s the latest:

• Andrew was back at his residence on the Sandringham estate, following one of the most tumultuous days in the history of Britain’s royal family.
• Despite his release from custody, the 66-year-old remains under investigation for his ties to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He has neither been charged nor exonerated by Thames Valley Police.
• British politicians on Friday renewed calls for the disgraced former prince to be removed from the line of succession.
• Police also said they will be asking Andrew’s former protection officers what “they saw or heard” during their period of service.
• Officers were back at Andrew’s former residence, Royal Lodge in Berkshire, and could remain there until Monday.

• Unmarked vans, believed to be police vehicles, were seen entering the grounds throughout Friday morning. There’s been no sign of the former prince since his release from custody and return to Sandringham in Norfolk last night.