Epstein files: Former prince Andrew released by police, Trump calls his arrest 'a shame'
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, brother of Britain’s King Charles, leaves Aylsham Police Station in a vehicle on the day he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, after the U.S. Justice Department released more records tied to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, in Aylsham, England, Feb. 19, 2026.
Phil Noble | Reuters
British police on Thursday released Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, former prince and the brother of King Charles III, after having arrested him earlier on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
The nature of the investigation has not been revealed. But Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest came after renewed focus on his past friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, the now-dead notorious sex offender, after the U.S. Department of Justice released millions of documents about Epstein.
Thames Valley Police, who had arrested Mountbatten-Windsor without publicly identifying him, had said they were assessing reports that he had sent Epstein confidential trade reports in 2010, when he was Britain’s special envoy for international trade.
Thames Valley Police, in a statement, said, “On Thursday … we arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office.”
“The arrested man has now been released under investigation,” police said. “We can also confirm that our searches in Norfolk have now concluded. Our searches in Berkshire are still underway.”
King Charles, in a statement earlier Thursday following the arrest of his brother, said, “I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office.”
“What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities,” the king said. “Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.”
President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Thursday, called Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest “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,” said Trump, who himself is a former friend of Epstein.
Charles stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his title of prince in October and forced him out of his home near Windsor Castle because of his ties to Epstein, who killed himself in August 2019 after being arrested on federal child sex trafficking charges filed in New York.
Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing in connection with Epstein, including allegations that he sexually assaulted Virginia Giuffre, a known victim of Epstein, when she was 17 years old.
In February 2022, Mountbatten-Windsor reached a confidential settlement with Giuffre of her lawsuit in New York federal court related to those allegations, without admitting wrongdoing.
But he agreed at the time to what was called “a substantial donation to Ms. Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights,” and in a statement said he regretted his association with Epstein, and commended “the bravery of Ms. Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.”
Giuffre died by suicide last April.
Maria Farmer, a victim of Epstein, in a statement Thursday after the arrest of Mountbatten-Windsor, said, “Today is just the beginning of accountability and justice brought forth by Virginia Roberts Giuffre — a young mother who adored her daughter so deeply, she fought the most powerful on earth to protect her. She did this for everyone’s daughters.”
“Let’s now demand all the dominos of power and corruption begin to fall,” Farmer said.
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