Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested latest: Former prince pictured leaving police station

The King is calculating that however bad the details might be, placing the former prince in the category of outcast will insulate him and his heirs from the fallout and allow the succession to continue, writes Anne McElvoy:

US president Donald Trump has weighed in on the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, hours after the King’s brother was detained under suspicion of alleged misconduct in public office.

“I think it’s a shame. I think it’s very sad. I think it’s so bad for the royal family. It’s very, very sad. To me, it’s a very sad thing,” Mr Trump said.

Andrew, who used to be known as “Prince” before having his royal titles stripped, was arrested after police launched an investigation into claims that he allegedly shared sensitive information while on official visits as the UK as the country’s trade envoy with Jeffrey Epstein.

The claims emerged as part of the Epstein file’s that were recently released by Trump’s Department of Justice.

US president Donald Trump has claimed convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein had been against him in the 2016 election.

He said: “It’s really interesting, because nobody used to speak about Epstein when he was alive, and now they speak, but I’m the one that can talk about it because I’ve been totally exonerated.

“I did nothing – in fact, the opposite. He was against me. He was fighting me in the election which I just found out throughout the last three million pages of documents.”

Craig Prescott, a royal expert at Royal Holloway, University of London, said Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest was “the most spectacular fall from grace for a member of the royal family in modern times”.

He compared it in severity to the crisis sparked by Edward VIII’s abdication to marry American divorcee Wallis Simpson.

“And it may not be over yet,” Mr Prescott added.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was released Thursday evening after being detained for about 11 hours at his home in eastern England.

He was photographed in a car leaving the police station near the royal Sandringham estate.

He was arrested by British police on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his alleged links to Jeffrey Epstein.

Police said he was released under investigation, meaning he has neither been charged nor exonerated.

Mothers react to their sons differently from others but on her watch, steps were taken to sideline the then Prince Andrew, writes historian Hugo Vickers:

The ex-prince is the author of his own misfortunes, but his story is a sad one, in the sense that anyone can see what an asset Andrew could have become had he lived up to his promise, writes Sean O’Grady: