Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has filed for a judicial review into whether his arrest on his birthday and the subsequent search warrants issued against his properties in February were lawful.
The 66-year-old former prince is seeking to challenge Thames Valley Police after officers detained him on suspicion of misconduct in public office, amid accusations that he sent confidential trade documents to Jeffrey Epstein. The Telegraph first reported the development on Sunday.
A High Court judge has approved the application for judicial review, according to the Telegraph, and a private hearing is scheduled for Thursday to decide whether documents connected to the case will be made public.
A senior Metropolitan Police source told the outlet they were surprised by the arrest, questioning why authorities did not instead invite Mountbatten-Windsor to attend a police station voluntarily for questioning.
The arrest took place on February 19 at his home on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk. He was taken to Aylsham Police Station, in Norfolk, where he was held for 11 hours. An officer at the station confirmed that the grounds for his arrest were lawful. While in custody he was fingerprinted, had his mugshot taken, and was required to provide a saliva sample.
Police also searched the Sandringham Estate and his former home, Royal Lodge, in Berkshire, while he was not present.
Following the arrest, King Charles, 77, issued a statement saying he held “deepest concern” over the allegations against the Duke of York.
“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. Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.”
The allegations centre on claims that Mountbatten-Windsor sent Epstein reports detailing 2010 trips to Singapore and Vietnam, made during his time as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade between 2001 and 2011. A conviction on the misconduct charge could carry a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.
Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, despite his past friendship with Epstein, who died in August 2019 at a Manhattan correctional facility while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges.
He stepped back from royal duties in 2019 amid the scrutiny over that friendship, and in 2022 was stripped of his military titles and royal patronages. In 2021 he was also accused of sexual abuse by Virginia Giuffre, an allegation he denied; the two reached a settlement before her death in April 2025.
