Five takeaways from the arrest of Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

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5 takeaways from the arrest of Britain’s Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly Prince Andrew, was arrested by British police Thursday morning local time, in an investigation focused on his links with Jeffrey Epstein.

The former prince was released after about 12 hours. No charges were pressed for now, but a police statement said he remained “under investigation.”

Mountbatten-Windsor has always been among the most famous of Epstein’s associates.

The late Virginia Giuffre alleged that she had been trafficked and forced into sex with then-Prince Andrew on three occasions, including when she was 17. Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied this. He settled a civil lawsuit Giuffre brought against him in 2022.

The arrest Thursday was not in relation to any alleged sexual matters, but instead focused on suspicions that Mountbatten-Windsor had disclosed sensitive information to Epstein, apparently while he was serving as a trade envoy for the U.K.

President Trump told reporters on board Air Force One on Thursday that the arrest of Mountbatten-Windsor was “a shame” and “a very sad thing.”

Here are the main takeaways.

The arrest was a historic moment

Until police came calling for Mountbatten-Windsor, no British royal had been arrested in almost 400 years.

It will be cold comfort to the former prince that he is not at risk of suffering the same fate as King Charles I, who was arrested during the English Civil War. Charles was arrested in 1647, convicted of treason, and beheaded in 1649.

Still, it is a seismic moment for any modern-day royal to be arrested.

To be sure, cultural deference to the monarchy has been on the decline for decades, driven in part by personal drama, lurid media coverage, and some landmark moments — including the popular perception that the royal family was overly cold in its response to the death of Princess Diana almost 30 years ago.

Still, the prospect of a man who remains eighth-in-line to the British throne potentially facing criminal charges is of a different order of magnitude.

King Charles III released a statement reacting to his younger brother’s arrest in which he said he had learnt about it “with the deepest concern.”

The monarch added that the authorities “have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation” and continued, “Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.”

But there could yet be more troubles ahead for the royals, especially if information suggesting they tried to protect Mountbatten-Windsor were to emerge.

It has been reported that the family, including the late Queen Elizabeth II, helped finance Mountbatten-Windsor’s settlement with Giuffre, for example.

Democrats sharpen questions about lack of US accountability

The arrest of such a high-profile figure drew questions about whether adequate scrutiny had also been applied to figures in the United States with a connection to Epstein.

Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.) put that case especially sharply when she wrote on social media, “If a Prince can be held accountable, so can a President.”

Trump last year resisted a full release of the Epstein files until it became clear congressional pressure would force his hand.

Trump also often notes that he cut off a previous friendship with the disgraced financier roughly two decades ago. The president has always vigorously denied any wrongdoing or specific knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.

The latest batch of the Epstein files, however, did include a reference to a 2019 FBI interview with a former Palm Beach, Fla., police chief who apparently said Trump had called him in 2006 to thank him for investigating Epstein, adding “everyone has known he’s been doing this.”

The new files also include lurid and uncorroborated accusations against Trump.

During his Thursday remarks on Air Force One, Trump claimed of the Epstein matter generally, “I’m the expert in a way because I’ve been totally exonerated. That’s very nice.”

The issue isn’t just Trump, however.

The latest files forced Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick to acknowledge he and his family visited Epstein on his island in 2012. Lutnick had previously indicated he had cut ties with Epstein in 2005.

Lutnick has not endured any real pressure to surrender his government role.

The list of foreign figures to suffer Epstein consequences grows

The Epstein matter has had more far-reaching consequences, so far, in the U.K. and elsewhere in Europe.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has come under serious pressure because of his decision to appoint Peter Mandelson as ambassador to the U.S. in late 2024, even though it was known Mandelson had some past connection to Epstein.

Mandelson, a central figure in the ruling British Labour Party since the mid-1980s, was fired in September after new details of his friendship with the disgraced financier came to light.

There is no suggestion Mandelson was involved in, or aware of, Epstein’s sexual predations. But he faces investigation under the same law as Mountbatten-Windsor: alleged misconduct in public office. Mandelson, like Mountbatten-Windsor denies wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, a former prime minister of Norway, Thorbjørn Jagland, has been charged with corruption over his dealings with Epstein, an ambassador from the same nation resigned, and so too did the national security adviser to the prime minister of Slovakia.

Giuffre family claims vindication

Even though the current investigation is into Mountbatten-Windsor’s communications with Epstein, rather than anything of a sexual nature, Giuffre’s family claimed vindication from the arrest.

“Today our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty,” Giuffre’s siblings said in a statement shared with several news outlets. They also expressed “gratitude” to British police and added, “He was never a prince. For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you.”

Virginia Giuffre died by suicide last year, aged 41.

Even before Thursday’s arrest, Mountbatten-Windsor had faced fresh questions after the latest batch of Epstein files included photos that appear to show him kneeling over an unidentified woman.

New demands for Mountbatten-Windsor to testify to Congress

Demands that Mountbatten-Windsor testify to Congress have been sharpened by his arrest.

Rep. Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.), who sits on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told Sky News that Mountbatten-Windsor could testify from the U.K. if he wished. “He can testify remotely, he can testify in person — and in the U.K.,” the congressman said.

In a separate interview with the U.K.’s Channel Four, Subramanyam acknowledged the U.S. Congress had no subpoena power over a foreign national, but said of Mountbatten-Windsor, “We’ve been wanting him to come to us and tell us what he knows.”

On social media, the congressman wrote that it was the committee investigation that had “let to real accountability of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor in the UK. Now, we need that justice and accountability here in the United States.”

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