Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on Thursday, Feb. 19, on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
The former prince’s arrest comes after years of public scrutiny due to his ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein, and the allegations from Virginia Giuffre that she was forced to have multiple sexual encounters with the former prince after being sex-trafficked by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell as a minor. Andrew has denied all allegations against him.
He stepped back from his royal duties in 2020 and decided to give up his royal titles — including Duke of York in 2025. His brother, King Charles III, then stripped Andrew of all remaining titles, including prince, after which he became Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
“I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office,” the king said in a statement issued by Buckingham Palace. “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 family of Giuffre reacted to news of the prince’s arrest in a statement.
“At last. Today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty. On behalf of our sister, Virginia Roberts Giuffre, we extend our gratitude to the UK’s Thames Valley Police for their investigation and arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor,” the statement said. “He was never a prince. For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you.”
Here is a look back at the former prince’s life.
A bulletin placed in front of the gates of Buckingham Palace announced Andrew’s birth on February 19, 1960.
“The Queen has had a restful night. Her Majesty and her son are both very well,” the bulletin read.
Princess Ann was nearly 10 years old and the now King Charles was nearly 12 when the Queen brought home their younger brother.
Andrew happily waved to onlookers while on the Buckingham Palace balcony at the 1962 Trooping the Colour ceremony.
The former Prince Andrew posed for a photo alongside his mother, Queen Elizabeth, and his younger brother, Prince Edward, following his birth in March 1964.
No longer the youngest member of the royal family, Andrew waved to the crowd at the 1964 Trooping the Colour alongside his parents and his younger brother, Prince Edward.
Andrew was photographed climbing a tree on the grounds of Buckingham Palace.
Prince Edward and the former Prince Andrew smiled for the camera while poking their heads through the stone barriers on the grounds outside Buckingham Palace.
The former prince was photographed saluting while in his Boy Scouts uniform while outside Buckingham Palace.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip posing for a family photo with their four children outside at Frogmore House in Windsor.
An 11-year-old Andrew joined his mother, Queen Elizabeth, and brother, Prince Edward to read a book as part of the Queen’s Christmas message to the Commonwealth.
Andrew posed for a photo outside Balmoral Castle with his mother, father and younger brother.
The castle in Scottland was known to be the Queen’s favorite destination over the summer holiday.
Andrew joined his family on the Buckingham Palace balcony to help celebrate his sister, Princess Anne’s marriage.
Princess Anne married Captain Mark Phillips in November 1973, and the couple welcomed two children together, Zara Tindall and Peter Phillips, before separating in 1989 and divorcing in April 1992.
Andrew sat beside his brother, the now King Charles, as the royal family arrived for the Highland Games in Scotland in 1975.
Andrew and King Charles embraced the cowboy lifestyle, dressing up in cowboy hats and bolo ties while watching the Calgary Stampede during a visit to Canada in 1977.
An 18-year-old Andrew was still a student at Gordonstoun School, where Prince Philip also attended as a teenager, and was preparing to join the Royal Navy in the coming year.
The former prince began training at Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth in 1979, with the intention of joining the Royal Navy following graduation.
Here he is standing in line with other students during his Passing Out parade in 1980, which was attended by Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth.
Andrew posed alongside his older brother, the now King Charles, and his new bride, Princess Diana, in 1981.
The former prince joined the Royal Navy following his graduation from the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, and was called to serve his country during the 10-week Falklands War, during which he acted as a helicopter pilot and flew many missions.
The war broke out in April 1982 when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a territory of the British Commonwealth.
Andrew returned from the war in September 1982, and his parents were there to greet him when he arrived.
The former prince continued to serve his country as a member of the Royal Navy in 1983.
Andrew married Sarah Ferguson in 1986, a woman he had known since they were both toddlers, but did not begin dating until Princess Diana invited Ferguson to Royal Ascot in the summer of 1965.
“We were made to sit next to each other,” Andrew said in their engagement interview. “It was at Ascot, as it were, that the whole thing took off.”
The two were engaged shortly after and tied the knot in July 1986. In an interview with Piers Morgan in 2011, Ferguson said: “We married for total love. And when I went up that aisle, I had — I married my man.”
The former Duke and Duchess of York welcomed their first daughter, Princess Beatrice, in August 1988.
“Her Royal Highness the Duchess of York was safely delivered of a daughter at 8:18 p.m. today,” the royal decree announcing her birth read. It reportedly took 14 days for the couple to announce their firstborn daughter’s name.
Andrew continued serving his country in the Royal Navy throughout the 1980s.
Andrew and Sarah waving at the camera prior to departing for Balmoral to spend their summer holiday there.
Andrew and the former Duchess of York welcomed their second daughter, Princess Eugenie, in March 1990.
A sign was placed outside Buckingham Palace announcing the birth and assuring fans that both mother and baby were doing well. She was introduced to the world outside the hospital wrapped in a white blanket.
The former prince and Ferguson announced their separation in 1992. Although they separated as a couple, they remained committed to parenting their two daughters together.
This was a particularly bad year for the royal family, and is often called Queen Elizabeth II’s “annus horribilis.” This year saw the separation of Andrew and Ferguson, marital issues between Charles and Princess Diana, a fire at Windsor Castle and was the year Princess Anne got a divorce.
Despite separating, Andrew and Ferguson maintained a healthy co-parenting relationship.
In 1993, Andrew became the captain of the Royal Navy minehunter HMS Cottesmore. Here he is posing in front of it.
Four years after announcing their separation, Andrew and Ferguson finalized their divorce in 1996.
“I didn’t want a divorce but had to because of circumstance. I wanted to work; it’s not right for a princess of the royal house to be commercial, so Andrew and I decided to make the divorce official so I could go off and get a job,” Ferguson later told Harper’s Bazaar.
Andrew traveled all over the world as a member of the royal family, including to Samoa, where he learned a traditional dance.
Despite no longer being a member of the royal family, Ferguson continued to co-parent with Andrew, including going on ski vacations with him and their daughters.
Andrew joined then-President Bill Clinton for a round of gold in Martha’s Vineyard in 1999, the same year his relationship with Jeffery Epstein began.
Both Clinton and Andrew are mentioned in the Epstein files, although inclusion in the files does not necessarily indicate any wrongdoing.
In 2001, Andrew officially retired from the Royal Navy after serving for 22 years, and according to Buckingham Palace, he retired with the rank of commander.
That same year, he was appointed the U.K.’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, which involved promoting British businesses abroad, leading trade delegations and other responsibilities.
The Queen Mother died in 2002, and Andrew led the procession at her funeral alongside his brother, the now King Charles, and his father, Prince Philip.
Andrew was all smiles as he visited the Trentham Military Camp in New Zealand during a visit to the country in 2005.
Andrew celebrated the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II with his parents on the Buckingham Palace balcony in 2005.
Andrew continued to live life as a senior royal, even attending the Christmas service in Sandringham with his family in 2006.
That year, the former prince was appointed a member of the Order of the Garter, one of the oldest and most prestigious honors in Britain.
When he was stripped of his titles by King Charles in 2025, he was also removed as a member of the Garter.
The former prince posed for photos with his family in celebration of his parent’s 60th wedding anniversary in 2007.
This year also marked Epstein’s first time facing serious criminal charges in Florida related to sexual abuse of underage girls. He ultimately reached a plea deal which was formalized in 2008. However, Andrew’s relationship with him continued.
Andrew dressed in full military regalia in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Royal Navy Aviation.
Andrew and Ferguson came together to celebrate their daughter, Princess Beatrice’s graduation from Goldsmiths College in 2011.
This year, he also stepped down as the U.K.’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment due to public criticism over his friendship with Epstein.
Andrew’s standing in the public eye continued to deteriorate in 2015 when Virginia Giuffre came forward alleging she was a victim of Epstein’s. She claimed to have been sexually trafficked by him and forced to engage in sexual intercourse with Andrew when she was 17 years old.
The former prince denied the allegations and Buckingham Palace released a statement in support of him.
Andrew continued in his role as a working royal, attending events such as Royal Ascot and representing the family during engagements abroad.
The former Duke of York was all smiles as he walked his daughter down the aisle on her wedding day in 2018.
Princess Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank in October of that year and the two now share two sons: August and Ernest, born in 2021 and 2023 respectively.
Things took a turn for the worse for Andrew in 2019 when Epstein was arrested on charges of federal sex trafficking in the United States. His arrest and subsequent death in August 2019 resurfaced the allegations made against him by Giuffre.
In an effort to clear his name, Andrew gave a televised interview to BBC journalist Emily Maitlis, in which he denied any sexual contact with Giuffre and claimed he doesn’t remember meeting her.
While he did say he regretted his friendship with Epstein, the public did not feel he showed any empathy for his victims, which they criticized him for. Rather than help his reputation, the interview did more harm to his public image and, just a few days after it aired, he announced in November 2019 that he would be scaling back from public duties.
In January 2022, Buckingham Palace announced that Andrew had been stripped of his honorary military roles and royal patronages and that they had been returned to the Queen.
Due to this decision, he was not allowed to dress in military uniform when attending his mother’s funeral in 2022 like his siblings, instead wearing a suit.
Also in 2022, Andrew reached an out-of-court settlement with Giuffre stemming from a civil suit against him, therefore avoiding trial. He did not, however, admit to any liability in the settlement and the financial terms were kept a secret.
He was not present on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee or any of the other Jubilee events.
While the former prince was in attendance at King Charles’ coronation in May 2023, he did not join the rest of the family on the Buckingham Palace balcony to greet the public following the ceremony.
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Photos of Andrew were found in the Epstein files released by the Department of Justice in December 2025.
Inclusion in the files does not necessarily imply any wrongdoing.
Earlier that year he decided to give up his royal titles — including Duke of York in 2025. His brother, King Charles III, then stripped Andrew of all remaining titles, including prince, after which he became Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
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Andrew was arrested in February 2026 on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
According to People, the arrest took place in Sandringham Estate, the same home where his mother, Queen Elizabeth, spent her final days. He moved there after he was forced out of his home, Royal Lodge in Windsor, by King Charles.
“This is the place – Wood Farm – where the Queen spent her last birthday in April 2022,” Robert Jobson, the author of ‘The Windsor Legacy,’ told People following the arrest. “Four years later, it’s been raided by the police. It beggars belief.”
