Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor takes legal action against UK police over Epstein arrest

By Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN

(CNN) — King Charles’ younger brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has launched legal action against police in England over his arrest earlier this year on suspicion of misconduct in public office following revelations from the Epstein files in the United States.

Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, has asked for a judge to determine if Thames Valley Police’s actions against him earlier this year were lawful. The development was first reported by Britain’s The Telegraph newspaper on Sunday.

He has lodged a judicial review in relation to the search warrants that were executed at his home at the Sandringham Estate and his former home at Royal Lodge in Windsor.

A court hearing will be held on Thursday, British media reported Monday.

Thames Valley Police confirmed to CNN on Monday that it was “engaged in legal proceedings in relation to warrants previously obtained from the Central Criminal Court” and would not comment further with legal proceedings ongoing.

CNN has also reached out to the UK Judicial Office for comment.

The former Duke of York became the first senior royal in centuries to be arrested in February, the latest extraordinary development in a yearslong scandal over his ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which obliterated his reputation and has thrown the royal family into crisis.

He was detained by police on his 66th birthday at his new home on his brother’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, eastern England, on February 19. He was taken to Aylsham police station where he was questioned for almost 12 hours before being released under investigation. No charges were filed; police have said its investigation is still ongoing.

Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest came after the force previously said it was assessing whether the former prince had shared confidential information with Epstein during his decade as a UK trade envoy.

Mountbatten-Windsor has vehemently denied any and all wrongdoing in his dealings with Epstein, and has denied any personal gain from his role as a trade envoy, according to British media reports.

He stepped down from official royal duties in 2019 following a calamitous interview with the BBC over his friendship with Epstein. But headlines related to the late financier continued to plague the disgraced royal. In 2025, King Charles stripped his younger brother of his title as prince, following public outcry after the release of a posthumous memoir by Virginia Giuffre, a prominent accuser of Epstein who alleged that Mountbatten-Windsor had sexually assaulted her as a teenager.

Giuffre – who the prince claims never to have met – died by suicide in April 2025 at the age of 41. In addition to denying all allegations against him, Mountbatten-Windsor has also previously insisted he never witnessed or suspected any of the behavior of which Epstein is accused.

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