Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor files legal action over arrest by U.K. police

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is seeking a judicial review of search warrants obtained by British police connected to his arrest over allegations that he sent secret government documents to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The U.K. Judicial Office told Global News in a statement on Monday that a hearing was scheduled for Thursday after the former prince challenged the legality of the search warrants granted in the lead-up to his arrest.

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The hearing, which will take place in private under Justice Hilliard, will determine whether documents related to Mountbatten-Windsor’s request for a judicial review can be made public, according to the Judicial Office.

Thames Valley Police, which carried out the arrest, confirmed it was engaged in legal proceedings in relation to warrants it ‌had ⁠obtained from the Central Criminal Court, widely known as the Old Bailey, Reuters reported Monday.

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The former prince and younger brother of King Charles III was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in February during which his former home at the Royal Lodge in Windsor and a property on the Sandringham estate, one of the royal family’s private homes, were searched.

At the time of Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, Assistant Chief Const. Oliver Wright said: “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office.

Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. He has not been charged with any crimes.

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Correspondence between the two men was released by the U.S. Justice Department in January, along with millions of pages of documents from the American investigation into Epstein.

Hours after Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested, King Charles III released a statement, saying, “I 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,” the statement continued.

“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,” he added. “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.”

King Charles III’s comments came months after he formally stripped his brother of the title of “Prince” and removed his designation as “His Royal Highness,” as well as his title as the “Duke of York,” because of his relationship with Epstein.

Mountbatten-Windsor was also evicted from his royal residence by the king.

The allegations connected to the judicial review are separate from those made by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was trafficked to Britain to have sex with the former prince in 2001, when she was just 17. Giuffre died by suicide last year.

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Still, Giuffre’s family praised the arrest, saying that their “broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty.”

Mountbatten-Windsor’s detainment was the first time in nearly four centuries that a senior British royal was placed under arrest.