Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested over links to Epstein...

LONDON − British police arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on Feb. 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public life, according to multiple news outlets in the United Kingdom. The BBC was the first to report the development. The former prince has faced intense scrutiny over his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, has denied any wrongdoing and said he regrets the friendship. He has not responded to requests for comment following the latest Epstein files published by the U.S. Justice Department. Epstein files: King Charles breaks silence on brother Andrew The UK's Thames Valley Police said in a statement that they arrested a man in his sixties and were carrying out searches at addresses in Norfolk and Berkshire. The statement did not name the suspect. Police said an investigation was opened. Mountbatten-Windsor recently moved to the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. The Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that six unmarked police cars and around eight plain clothed officers were seen arriving at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate. King Charles' brother: Andrew crouches over woman in new Epstein photos British police said earlier this month officers were considering allegations King Charles' younger brother passed confidential government documents to Epstein, according to the files recently released by the U.S. government. Mountbatten-Windsor was stripped of his royal titles last year over his links to Epstein. The specific police allegations under investigation have not been released. In one photo that appeared in the files released by the Justice Dept. in relation to the U.S. investigation of Epstein, the former prince can be seen kneeling on all fours over an unidentified woman on the ground. 'Be nice and behave.' How Epstein used web of power figures to his benefit His arrest coincided with the former prince's 66th birthday. Some U.S. lawmakers and the family of his most prominent accuser, Virginia Giuffre, who alleged in her posthumous memoir that she was a victim of Epstein's sex-trafficking ring, have appealed to Mountbatten-Windsor to testify in the U.S. about his Epstein connections. The former prince reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre in 2022. Mountbatten-Windsor denied any wrongdoing in the case and he did not admit any liability. British police have also opened an investigation into the UK's former ambassador to the U.S, Peter Mandelson, over his Epstein connections. Mandelson, too, is being investigated on allegations of misconduct in public office. The Metropolitan Police launched an investigation into whether he passed on market-sensitive government information to Epstein when Mandelson was business secretary in Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government, in 2008. King Charles has said the royal family is "ready to support" police in their investigations. O’Bryan Grandison, a professor of policing at the UK's Birmingham City University, said in emailed comments that Mountbatten-Windsor is the first senior royal to be arrested in modern history.