Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has hit out months after the humiliating arrest on his 66th birthday.
Andrew has launched legal action (Image: Getty)
GB News‘ usual programming was halted for major breaking news as presenter Will Kingston informed viewers that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will be taking Thames Valley Police to court. He revealed: “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has launched legal action against Thames Valley Police over his arrest in relation to the Epstein files. This is coming out in the Telegraph. The former Duke of York, who was detained in a blaze of publicity eight months ago, has asked a judge to determine whether the force’s action towards him was lawful.” Will continued: “He’s launched a judicial review in connection with the search warrant that allowed police to raid his home in the Sandringham Estate and his former residence at Royal Lodge in Windsor.” The presenter highlighted: “It’s the first time a member of the Royal Family has challenged the lawfulness of criminal proceedings since Charles I in 1649.
At the time, the force confirmed it was investigating the former Prince over potential misconduct in a public office. The original allegations were that he gave commercially valuable information to his paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the UK’s special trade envoy between 2001 and 2011.
Detectives were also assessing reports that a woman was taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes. The alleged incident reportedly occurred at the former prince’s residence, Royal Lodge, in 2010. The woman, who is not British, was in her 20s at the time.
Prior to his arrest, Her lawyer, Brad Edwards, previously said: “We’re talking about at least one woman who was sent by Jeffrey Epstein over to Prince Andrew.” The former working Royal, who had been celebrating his 66th birthday, was arrested following a probe by eight police forces around the UK and was interviewed for 11 hours.
While Andrew has continued to strenuously deny any wrongdoing, he was eventually released under investigation. This comes after the late Virginia Giuffre became the first woman to publicly accuse Andrew of similar allegations in 2014.
She claimed that aged 17 she was trafficked by Epstein and his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, and forced to have sex with the former Duke of York, which he continues to deny. Ms Giuffre lodged a civil lawsuit in the US against him in 2021 for an estimated £12m. She took her own life last year.
In response to his arrest, King Charles expressed his “deepest concern” over the detention of his younger brother but added that the “law must take its course” and that police had his “full and wholehearted support and cooperation”. Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales fully support the King
The King stripped Andrew of both his right to be a prince and his dukedom late last year over his association with the convicted sex offender.
During the police search, detectives spent days searching Marsh Farm and Royal Lodge, removing documents and other items as part of the investigation.
It is now understood that Andrew’s legal team is keen to examine whether the search warrants, granted by an Old Bailey judge following an application from Thames Valley Police, were lawful.
He asked for permission to judicially review the decision earlier this year, and his application was subsequently granted by a High Court judge.
According to The Telegraph, a private hearing at the High Court is scheduled for later this week to determine whether to release certain court documents relating to the judicial review.