Disgraced ex-prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has launched a legal challenge over search warrants for his royal homes issued before his February arrest, Britain’s judiciary confirmed Monday, in an unprecedented royal move in modern times.
The force arrested the Andrew on his 66th birthday on February 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his links to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew was released the same day after hours of police questioning, but remained under investigation. The judiciary confirmed the High Court was to hold a private hearing on Thursday, as King Charles III’s brother challenges Thames Valley Police over the searches in Windsor, west of London, and Sandringham, eastern England. The Daily Telegraph reported the legal challenge late on Sunday.
He has denied all wrongdoing in his associations with the American financier. The force arrested Andrew on his 66th birthday on February 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his links to late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The newspaper noted it was the first time a member of Britain’s royal family has challenged the lawfulness of criminal proceedings against them since the trial of Charles I in 1649.
It said his legal team wanted to examine whether the search warrants granted by a judge at London’s Old Bailey court — formally known as the Central Criminal Court — were lawful.
Andrew’s arrest and the police searches marked a new low for the ex-prince, who was stripped of his royal titles last year and ousted from his Windsor home over his Epstein connections.
The judiciary’s press office said “the case concerns an application by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for a judicial review to quash search warrants issued by a judge at the Central Criminal Court on 18 February 2026”.
