View of Royal Lodge, ex-Prince Andrew’s residence in Windsor Great Park, where officers from Thames Valley Police were continuing to search Friday for evidence in an investigation into alleged misconduct in public office by King Charles’ younger brother. Photo by Tolga Akman/EPA
Feb. 20 (UPI) — British police resumed a search of the former residence of ex-prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, in the grounds of Windsor Castle on Friday, hours after he was arrested and later released “under investigation” on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Unmarked police vehicles were seen driving into Royal Lodge, Andrew’s home for more than two decades until he was relocated by the King to his Sandringham estate two weeks ago, shortly after 7 a.m. local time.
Thames Valley Police officers are combing the sprawling 30-room mansion, set in its own grounds of around 100 acres, three miles south of Windsor Castle, for evidence as part of their investigation into allegations Andrew passed confidential files to Jeffrey Epstein when the former prince was serving as Britain’s trade envoy.
Gathering, logging and processing evidence and items founds at the property could take days, according to the BBC.
Thames Valley Police said in a news update that searches it had been carrying out at Sandringham in Norfolk had ended on Thursday evening and that it would “not be making any further statement at this time and will not be holding a press conference or conducting any media interviews in relation to this investigation.”
Following Andrew’s arrest at Sandringham on Thursday morning, he was driven to a police station in Aylsham, about 35 miles to the east, where he was questioned for around 10 hours before being released “under investigation.”
He was not required to post bail, is not under restrictions of any kind and is free to come and go as he pleases.
Andrew has not been charged and being arrested does not mean a person is guilty of any crime or offense, but no member of the royal family has been arrested in nearly four centuries since Charles I was executed for treason in 1649, upon which the monarchy was abolished and England became a republic.
Andrew’s case would be uncharted waters because it would mean King Charles prosecuting his own brother as the format for all criminal prosecutions is “R. versus [insert defendant’s name].
R stands for Rex, the King.
The TVP investigation was launched after emails in Epstein files released by the U.S. Justice Department appear to show Andrew passing confidential reports and information to Epstein in 2010 and 2011, in violation of his responsibilities as Britain’s then-trade envoy.
If convicted of misconduct in public office, Mountbatten-Windsor faces a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to official Crown Prosecution Service guidance.
However, the bar for prosecution is substantial, requiring proof the defendant was a “public officer” when they committed the alleged offenses, they purposely neglected to perform their duty or misbehaved in that role some other way, that their actions constituted “an abuse of public trust” and that they had no “reasonable excuse or justification.”
Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, including allegations of a sexual nature made by the late Virginia Giuffre, but has remained silent over the most recent slew of allegations.
In 2022, he settled a lawsuit alleging sexual assault brought by Guiffre out of court with an undisclosed payment believed to run to eight figures.
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