Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor Takes Legal Action Against Police Over Search Warrants Used in His Arrest
The former prince is challenging the legality of warrants executed at Sandringham and Royal Lodge. A private hearing is scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is taking legal action against Thames Valley Police over the search warrants used in connection with his arrest in February. The former prince, who lost his titles of prince and Duke of York because of his links to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, is challenging the lawfulness of the warrants.
According to the Telegraph, which first reported the legal action, Mountbatten-Windsor's lawyers are contesting the warrants used at Sandringham and at the Royal Lodge in Windsor. The warrants were issued by a judge at the Central Criminal Court on February 18 — the day before his arrest — and the legal claim is directed against the Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police and the Central Criminal Court.
A court hearing to consider the application to quash the warrants is scheduled for Thursday afternoon and will begin in private. Thames Valley Police confirmed its involvement: "We are participating in legal proceedings in relation to warrants previously obtained from the Central Criminal Court." A spokesperson added: "As these proceedings are currently ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further."
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in a public office after information emerged from the Epstein files in the United States. The arrest took place on his 66th birthday and resulted in him being taken to Aylesham police station. Photographs captured his departure later that day, looking drawn, after he was released under investigation.
In the days following the arrest, police searched his property at Marsh Farm in Sandringham and his former home, Royal Lodge, in the Windsor estate.
Thames Valley Police has said its investigation is ongoing. Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing in his relationships with Epstein.
For now, the legal battle has begun. The former prince, stripped of his royal titles but still a figure of enormous public interest, is not simply defending himself against the police investigation — he is challenging the procedural foundations of the search itself. The private hearing on Thursday will determine whether the warrants that led to the searches of his homes were lawfully obtained. Whatever the outcome, the case ensures that the Epstein scandal, which has already cost Mountbatten-Windsor his titles and his public role, will continue to shadow him for months to come.
Written by Freya Stensrud freya.stensrud@alpineweekly.com