The Arrest of the Former Prince Andrew

"At eight o'clock this morning, U.K. time, a detachment of unmarked police cars arrived at the temporary home of Andrew Albert Christian Edward Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III, to arrest him on suspicion of misconduct in public office. It is the first time since 1647, when Charles I was handed to the custody of the English Parliament by the Scottish Army, that a senior member of the Royal Family has been detained in this way."

"The former prince, who turns sixty-six today, is being investigated for his behavior as the U.K.'s trade envoy, between 2001 and 2011, when he is alleged to have forwarded confidential government briefings about investment opportunities to his friend Jeffrey Epstein. A statement from Thames Valley Police, which described Mountbatten-Windsor as "a man in his sixties from Norfolk," said that the arrest followed a "thorough assessment," presumably of the dozens of e-mails between the two men released in the latest batches of the Epstein files."

"As I wrote earlier this week, Mountbatten-Windsor, who used to be known as the Duke of York, has been the subject of a prolonged and experimental de-royalling for the past fifteen years, after a photograph of him with Virginia Giuffre, who was a victim of sex trafficking by Epstein and died by suicide last year, was first published in the British media."

Andrew Albert Christian Edward Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III, was arrested at eight o'clock U.K. time after unmarked police cars arrived at his temporary Norfolk home. The arrest, the first comparable detention of a senior royal since 1647, is on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his decade as the U.K.'s trade envoy. He is alleged to have forwarded confidential government briefings about investment opportunities to Jeffrey Epstein between 2001 and 2011. Thames Valley Police described him as "a man in his sixties from Norfolk" and said the arrest followed a "thorough assessment" of e-mails released in the Epstein files. He has faced prolonged de-royalling after a photograph with Virginia Giuffre led to removal of titles, rank, income, homes, and associations.

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