Former Prince Andrew arrested on 66th birthday as Epstein Files suggest leak of trade secrets

United Kingdom police arrested former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on Thursday at his Norfolk residence. The arrest took place on his 66th birthday at Wood Farm, a property on the King's Sandringham estate in Norfolk. The former British Royal, whose association with child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein marked his fall from grace, is being investigated for "misconduct in public office".

"Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office," Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright, Thames Valley Police, said in a statement. Police informed that searches are being carried out at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk. "We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time," Wright said. 

After the release of over 3.5 million documents from the Epstein Files, Thames Valley Police began investigating reports that the former Prince had sent confidential trade documents to Epstein in 2010, when he served as special envoy for international trade. Apart from a new set of images from Andrew's New York mansion and a draft email that confirms the authenticity of the former Prince's infamous picture with Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia Giuffre, the new set of emails also suggested potential violations of the U.K.'s Official Secrets Act. Guiffre, an Epstein victim, took her own life in April 2025, aged 41.

Andrew's elder brother, King Charles III, said in a statement that "the law must take its course". "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. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation," his statement read. The British Prime Minister mirrored the King's voice, saying, "no one is above the law". 

"Anybody who has any information should testify. So whether it's Andrew or anybody else, anybody who has got relevant information should come forward to whatever the relevant body is, in this particular case, we're talking about Epstein, but there are plenty of other cases," Prime Minister Keir Starmer told the BBC before Andrew's arrest.

Giuffre’s family, too, said in a statement to CBS News that the arrest shows that "no one is above the law". "At last, today our broken hearts have been lifted with the news that no one is above the law – not even royalty. On behalf of our sister, we extend our gratitude to the UK's Thames Valley Police in their investigation and arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor," the statement read.

The newly released set of Epstein files suggests that Andrew forwarded confidential reports of his official trade visits to Singapore, Vietnam, and Hong Kong to the sex trafficker. He also allegedly sent Epstein a "confidential brief" regarding investment opportunities in the reconstruction of Helmand Province in Afghanistan, and shared sensitive details about the restructuring of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).