Police search former Prince Andrew’s home a day after his arrest

Police Search Former Royal Residence as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Investigation Intensifies

Police continued their search of Royal Lodge on Friday, the former home of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, following his arrest and 11-hour detention on suspicion of sharing confidential trade information with the late Jeffrey Epstein.

The search, expected to last several days, comes as the British government considers formally removing the former Prince Andrew from the royal line of succession. Despite being stripped of his royal titles last fall, he remains eighth in line to the throne—a status that can only be changed through new legislation.

James Murray, the government’s chief secretary to the treasury, indicated a shift in the official position, stating “the government is considering any further steps that might be required, and we’re not ruling anything out.” Such a change would mark the first removal from the line of succession since King Edward VIII’s abdication in 1936 and would require agreement from more than a dozen Commonwealth countries that recognize the British monarch as head of state.

Following his release Thursday evening, Mountbatten-Windsor returned to his new residence on the Sandringham estate, King Charles III’s private retreat approximately 115 miles northeast of London. Police have concluded their search there but continue examining Royal Lodge, the 30-room mansion near Windsor Castle where he lived for decades until his eviction earlier this month.

The investigation stems from emails released by the U.S. Department of Justice that appear to show Mountbatten-Windsor sharing reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore with Epstein, as well as sending the disgraced financier a confidential brief on investment opportunities in Afghanistan. These actions allegedly occurred during his time as a trade envoy for the United Kingdom.

Thames Valley Police has clarified that Thursday’s arrest is unrelated to separate allegations that a woman was trafficked to the UK by Epstein for a sexual encounter with Andrew. Meanwhile, other police forces are conducting their own investigations into Epstein’s UK connections, including reviewing flight logs at airports across the country.

London’s Metropolitan Police announced Friday they are working with U.S. counterparts to assess whether London airports “may have been used to facilitate human trafficking and sexual exploitation.” They have also asked past and present officers who protected Mountbatten-Windsor to report anything potentially relevant to the investigations.

Legal experts note that proving misconduct in public office—the suspected offense—presents significant challenges. “Firstly, it must be determined if Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was in a role within government that constitutes the title of public officer,” explained Sean Caulfield, a criminal defense lawyer at Hodge Jones & Allen. “There is no standard definition to clearly draw on.”

The Crown Prosecution Service will ultimately decide whether to charge Mountbatten-Windsor based on a two-stage test. Andrew Gilmore, partner at Grosvenor Law, explained this involves determining “whether there is a more realistic prospect of a conviction than not based on the evidence and whether the matter is in the public interest.”

The arrest marks a historic moment for the British monarchy—Mountbatten-Windsor is the first royal to be arrested since King Charles I nearly four centuries ago, an event that ultimately led to the monarch’s execution and temporary abolition of the monarchy. The current situation represents one of the gravest crises for the House of Windsor since its establishment over a century ago, comparable perhaps only to King Edward VIII’s abdication in 1936 and Princess Diana’s death in 1997.

King Charles III issued a statement Thursday saying the “law must take its course,” adding that “it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter” as the process continues.

The current investigation is separate from allegations made by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was trafficked to Britain to have sex with the prince in 2001 when she was 17. Giuffre died by suicide last year. Her sister-in-law, Amanda Roberts, expressed mixed emotions about the arrest, describing initial feelings of vindication tempered by the realization that she couldn’t share the news with Giuffre.

“We can’t tell her how much we love her, and that everything that she was doing is not in vain,” Roberts said.