Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has seen his reputation further ripped to shreds following his arrest on February 19, which also happened to be his birthday, on suspicion of misconduct in public office. After 11 hours in custody, Andrew was released later that day under investigation. No charges have been brought.
Although he has faced disgraced over his friendship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and his appearance in the Epstein files, experts have suggested that the 66-year-old could be forgiven for one major reason. Simarjot Singh Judge, managing partner at Judge Law, has said that any further action could not occur as it would depend on one thing.
Speaking to the Mirror, he added: “Some offences, such as misconduct in public office, do require the individual to be acting as a public officer at the time.
“That is a relatively narrow legal category, and it is not automatically satisfied simply because someone is a member of the Royal Family. It would depend on whether they were performing an official public function recognised in law.”
He added: “In addition, misconduct in public office requires proof not just of status, but of serious misconduct connected to that public role, and that the conduct amounted to an abuse of the public’s trust. Financial gain can be relevant in some offences, but it is not always a strict legal requirement.
“The criminal law sets out precise legal definitions and evidential thresholds. If those elements are not met, then there is simply no basis for prosecution under that specific offence.
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“It is also important to distinguish between legal liability and reputational consequences. The absence of a criminal charge does not automatically resolve public or institutional concerns, which operate under entirely different considerations.”
Despite having lost his royal titles, his honours and, most recently, his 30-room mansion in Windsor, Andrew still remains eighth in line to the throne.
The 65-year-old falls behind Prince William and his three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, who are first, second, third and fourth in line. Prince Harry, although he stepped down as a working royal six years ago, is still in fifth place, followed by his children, Prince Archie, six, and four-year-old Princess Lilibet.
Andrew has repeatedly and vehemently denied any wrongdoing over his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and being mentioned in the Epstein files does not indicate wrongdoing of any kind.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
