Britain’s former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was released from police custody on Thursday, almost 12 hours after he was detained on suspicion of abuse of official power in connection with his ties to the poor sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. After releasing the British king’s brother, police said the investigation was continuing. TASR informs about it according to world media reports.
Mountbatten-Windsor left Aylsham police station in Norfolk in the back seat of the vehicle, appearing in photographs to avoid being photographed, Sky News reported. Thames Valley Police said shortly after photographs of Mountbatten-Windsor leaving the police station were released that investigations were continuing.
“On Thursday, we arrested a man in his 60s from Norfolk on suspicion of abuse of office. The arrested man has now been released while inquiries continue,” she said. At the same time, she confirmed that the Norfolk parades are now over. Police arrested Mountbatten-Windsor on Thursday – his 66th birthday – at around 8am. local time (09:00 CET) allegedly at a property on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Authorities also searched properties in Berkshire and Norfolk counties in connection with his case.
The name of the former prince appeared repeatedly in the writings about Epstein. According to the latest findings the former prince is said to have sent potentially confidential information to the financier between 2001 and 2011 when he was the UK’s special representative for trade and investment. Mountbatten-Windsor was Epstein’s longtime friend. The American financier and convicted sex offender became a symbol of the abuse of underage girls. He died in a prison cell in August 2019 – officially it was a suicide.
The case of Mountbatten-Windsor – the younger son of the late Queen Elizabeth II. – and his connection to Epstein belongs among the biggest scandals of the British monarchy in recent decades. Mountbatten-Windsor was therefore already deprived of the title of His Royal Highness and military ranks. British King Charles III also commented on his brother’s arrest on Thursday, declaring that the law must apply to everyone.
