{"id":307525,"date":"2026-02-20T06:27:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T06:27:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/307525\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T06:27:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T06:27:09","slug":"the-most-shocking-day-for-the-british-crown-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/307525\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018The most shocking day for the British crown\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was shortly after 8am on Thursday when a small fleet of unmarked police cars drew up at Wood Farm on British king Charles<\/a>\u2019s private Sandringham estate in Norfolk. <\/p>\n

Plainclothes officers stepped out into the late winter drizzle and readied themselves for a historic act that the royal family might have been expecting and dreading for weeks. Inside the house, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor<\/a> was perhaps sitting down to a birthday breakfast.<\/p>\n

On February 19th, 1960, queen Elizabeth II gave birth to her third \u2013 and some say favourite and most indulged \u2013 child at Buckingham Palace. Exactly 66 years later, Andrew \u2013 no longer a prince, and ostracised by many members of his family \u2013 was about to face the ignominy of being arrested and taken into police custody<\/a> before being released almost 12 hours later. <\/p>\n

It was, said maj gen Alastair Bruce, a historian and royal watcher for Sky News, the \u201cmost shocking day for the British crown, to have a former prince of the blood arrested\u201d. The arrest was \u201cabout as critical as the institution could face\u201d, he said.<\/p>\n

Other commentators described the arrest as extraordinary, unprecedented, spectacular and a body blow.<\/p>\n

\"PlainclothesPlainclothes police officers at Wood Farm in Sandringham, Norfolk, the home of the former prince. Photograph: Peter Nicholls\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

As the news of the royal arrest catapulted across the globe, police embarked on searches at Mountbatten-Windsor\u2019s former home at Royal Lodge in Windsor and properties in Norfolk, England.<\/p>\n

Without naming the man at the centre of their actions, Thames Valley police said: \u201cWe have today arrested a man in his 60s from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office …\u201d<\/p>\n

Oliver Wright, an assistant chief constable with Thames Valley police, added: \u201cFollowing a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office. It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The king was not informed in advance of his brother\u2019s arrest, although it can be expected that the news reached him quickly. After a short period of silence, Charles made his position crystal clear. \u201cThe law must take its course,\u201d he said in an official statement issued at noon. The police had the royal family\u2019s \u201cfull and wholehearted support and co-operation\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"AA statement from king Charles following the arrest of his brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Photograph: Gareth Cattermole\/Getty Images <\/p>\n

The king\u2019s full statement was formal, perhaps necessarily so. It made reference to Andrew by his full name, without mentioning they were brothers. <\/p>\n

\u201cI 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation. Let me state clearly: the law must take its course. As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter. Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.\u201d<\/p>\n

The prince and princess of Wales moved swiftly to say they supported Charles\u2019s statement. The prime minister had also been robust on the subject. <\/p>\n

\u201cNobody is above the law,\u201d Keir Starmer<\/a> said hours before the arrest. Other senior politicians echoed the stance.<\/p>\n

It is short of three weeks since the US department of justice released millions of documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>, the US financier and convicted child sex offender who died in prison before being tried on charges of sex trafficking. Among Epstein\u2019s vast network of powerful friends and associates was the former prince.<\/p>\n

The files are still being combed through for what they reveal about Epstein\u2019s activities and associates. But among the early discoveries were emails that appear to show Mountbatten-Windsor, then an official UK trade envoy, forwarding sensitive government documents and commercial information to Epstein.<\/p>\n

One email, dated November 2010, appeared to be forwarded five minutes after being sent by Andrew\u2019s then special adviser, Amir Patel. Another, on Christmas Eve 2010, appeared to send Epstein a confidential brief on investment opportunities in the reconstruction of Helmand province, Afghanistan. Under official guidance, trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality over sensitive, commercial or political information about their official visits.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe former prince Andrew was released from custody after almost 12 hours. File photograph: Jordan Pettitt\/PA Wire<\/p>\n

For an institution that prides itself on service to the nation and promoting Britain\u2019s interests, the royal family\u2019s discovery that Mountbatten-Windsor had allegedly used his official role as trade envoy to potentially benefit Epstein and his associates was a further huge blow.<\/p>\n

Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n

The former prince\u2019s friendship with Epstein has been public knowledge for years. Virginia Giuffre\u2019s claim that he had sex with her \u2013 facilitated by Epstein \u2013 when she was 17 was denied by Mountbatten-Windsor, even as he made an out-of-court settlement, reportedly worth \u00a312 million, with his accuser. Giuffre took her own life last year.<\/p>\n

In a statement on Thursday, Giuffre\u2019s family said their \u201cbroken hearts have been lifted with the news that no one is above the law \u2013 not even royalty … He was never a prince. For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Buckingham Palace \u2018ready to support\u2019 police investigation of former prince AndrewOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

In November, after years of swirling allegations and rumours, king Charles finally took the strongest action available to him against his brother. Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his title of \u201cprince\u201d and was given notice to vacate his 30-room home in Windsor that he occupied on a peppercorn rent. He was excluded from the traditional royal Christmas celebrations at Sandringham, and his daughters are thought to have cut off contact with him.<\/p>\n

But the king, who has been heckled by members of the public over his brother\u2019s actions in recent weeks, cannot take away his royal bloodline. Despite inflicting shame and scandal on the royals, and now potentially facing criminal charges, Mountbatten-Windsor remains eighth in line to the throne.<\/p>\n

Earlier this month, Mountbatten-Windsor moved temporarily into nearby Wood Farm, the scene of the arrest, while his new home on the Sandringham estate, well away from the public eye, is being prepared.<\/p>\n

On Thursday morning, Mountbatten-Windsor is likely to have been taken from Wood Farm to a police station to be interviewed under criminal caution while officers carried out searches. They were likely to be looking for computers, phones and other devices that could yield evidence in the form of emails, texts and images.<\/p>\n

After Thames Valley police said Mountbatten-Windsor had been \u201creleased under investigation\u201d, they said searches in Norfolk had concluded but added that searches in Berkshire were continuing. <\/p>\n

\u2013 Guardian<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was shortly after 8am on Thursday when a small fleet of unmarked police cars drew up at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307526,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[42,11111,7428,43,11184,40,38,41,39,57640],"class_list":{"0":"post-307525","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-jeffrey-epstein","10":"tag-king-charles","11":"tag-news","12":"tag-prince-andrew","13":"tag-top-news","14":"tag-top-stories","15":"tag-topnews","16":"tag-topstories","17":"tag-virginia-giuffre"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307525"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307525\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307526"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}