Sean CoughlanRoyal correspondent
It’s a catch your breath moment. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is the first senior member of the Royal Family in modern history to have been arrested.
The moment is made more dramatic by the unprecedented statement from his brother, King Charles. “Let me state clearly: the law must take its course,” says the unambiguous statement from the King, offering no hiding place or protection.
The arrest, on suspicion of misconduct in public office, relates to Andrew’s time as the UK’s trade representative between 2001 and 2011. It follows a series of allegations, prompted by the release of the Epstein files, that Andrew shared official documents.
That included giving the sex offender Jeffrey Epstein reports from trade visits and a confidential briefing on investment in Afghanistan, and passing a Treasury briefing to a personal business contact.
Being a member of the Royal Family will make no legal difference to how his case is assessed.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing in his associations with Epstein.
The no-nonsense police statement is a bluntly worded news earthquake: “The man remains in police custody at this time.”
Whoever thought we’d read that when the man in question is still in the line of succession to the throne, and in theory, if not in practice, remains a counsellor of state?
His explanation of his behaviour won’t be in a TV interview. The public will not have forgotten the BBC’s Newsnight interview, which remains the last time Andrew addressed allegations around his relationship with Epstein in public.
This time, it will be in the presence of a lawyer and the investigating officers. He’ll be in a police interview room, rather than under the TV lights, and the consequences of any untruths will be much more serious.
The action by police on a winter’s morning in Norfolk was remarkable breaking news – and also appears to have taken the King by surprise as much as anyone else.
But the story of Andrew’s links to Epstein has been decades in the making – and so has Andrew’s downfall, first chipping away at his reputation before turning into an avalanche of disgrace.
The association with Epstein meant Andrew lost his trade envoy role in 2011, and after that disastrous Newsnight interview in 2019 he was removed as a working royal.
His retreat from public life became even more complete after his 2022 settlement with his accuser Virginia Giuffre.
And in October last year, as emails revealed that Andrew hadn’t ended his links with Epstein when he had claimed, he was stripped of his prince and duke titles, and eventually shuffled out of his Royal Lodge home at Windsor.
They were tough sanctions, removing any vestige of royal status.
The Palace has had some nervous moments in recent times, with questions shouted by hecklers suggesting they might be protecting Andrew.
This statement from the King will seek to draw a line under this and separate the Royal Family from whatever might happen to Andrew.
Another important factor in all of this is the public mood. The Epstein files, and what they have revealed regarding a network of those apparently high in connections but low on morals, has left people feeling angry at such unaccountable power and wealth.
It has felt abusive to the public, that the rich and influential appear to have been immune from the consequences of their behaviour, be it in terms of either sex or money. It has seemed to the public that corruption paid.
Making it even more resonant is that this arrest happened on Andrew’s 66th birthday. Any candles are going to have to wait for later.
There are references to Andrew’s previous birthdays in the Epstein files, such as a glitzy bash for his 50th at St James’s Palace.
One person who had to turn down the invite for that night of “mysterious mischief” was Jeffrey Epstein, who was still under house arrest as part of a sentence for procuring a minor for prostitution.
Andrew celebrated his birthday 12 months ago as Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, Earl of Inverness and Knight of the Garter. Who knows what will have changed by his next birthday.