Andrew-Epstein links were known for years. Then why was King Charles’ brother arrested only now?

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles of the UK, was arrested on Thursday (February 19) on “suspicion of misconduct in public office,” the BBC reported. The arrest caps a spectacular fall from grace for the disgraced former royal, who was stripped of his royal titles in the wake of serious allegations of paedophilia and sexual abuse last year, in relation to his long association with convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. An investigation was opened by the Thames Valley police in South East England “following a thorough assessment,” according to Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright. The current actions against Andrew likely have to do with the fresh revelations about Epstein and their significant fallout on UK politics. ## Before Andrew’s arrest: New revelations, business ties to Esptein Revelations of just how extensive Epstein’s network of influence was have reverberated across the world in recent weeks, with many calling for consequences for the rich and the famous. The likes of Bill Gates, Elon Musk, and top government officials have been named in email correspondence with the American financier, according to files released by the US government. Earlier this month, the BBC reported that the UK police were assessing a “complaint by anti-monarchy group Republic over the alleged sharing of confidential material by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor with Jeffrey Epstein.” According to material seen by the BBC, emails from 2010 showed Andrew informing Epstein of his official visits to countries like Singapore, Vietnam and China, “where he was accompanied by business associates of Epstein.” At the time, Andrew was a trade envoy of the British government, or the United Kingdom’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment. This was also two years after Epstein was first convicted of child sex offences, and flies in the face of Andrew’s prior claims of having ended his association with the man after his conviction. The report added that the emails appeared to show “a sender thought to be the former prince”, who “passed on reports of visits to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam and confidential details of investment opportunities.” Other emails from 2010 showed Andrew apparently sending Epstein a “confidential briefing on investment opportunities in the reconstruction of Afghanistan.” Mandelson angle, pressure on UK PM More broadly, pressure for action has been building for a while now, in the light of other Epstein-related developments in the UK. Prime Minister Keir Starmer himself has faced calls for resignation after it was learnt that the UK’s Ambassador to the United States, Peter Mandelson, had much closer ties with Epstein than was previously known. Starmer has admitted in Parliament that, despite knowledge of the Epstein link, Mandelson was appointed due to his reputation as a political fixer. It has now been claimed that Mandelson passed on confidential information to Epstein while holding important positions in the UK government, with the UK’s Metropolitan Police launching a criminal probe into “Misconduct in Public Office”. Allegations range from tip-offs made to Epstein about fiscal policy decisions to direct payments from Epstein to Mandelson. Even before this information was revealed, growing criticism led to Mandelson stepping down in September 2025. ## Andrew’s old links with Epstein Andrew’s arrest marks an unprecedented action against a member of the UK’s royal family. However, Andrew has been gradually separated from the royals in recent years. Sandringham, where he has been living, was also seen as a form of banishment from his Windsor home. As he relinquished his title of the Duke of York last year, reportedly after the royals grew concerned about more revelations coming out, he said “the continued accusations” about him would “distract from the work of His Majesty and the royal family.” Without specifying the allegations, Andrew said he denied them. In 2021, an American woman named Virginia Giuffre sued Andrew, saying that Epstein and his companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, arranged sexual encounters with the then prince starting when she was 17. Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025 at the age of 41. Andrew’s announcement came shortly before her posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice, came out. In it, Giuffre wrote that Epstein and Maxwell manipulated and exploited her when she was a minor, gradually forcing her into sexual activities with Epstein. She said she was introduced to Andrew in 2001, when she was 17 and he was 41. Maxwell told him not to refuse what he would ask of her. “He was friendly enough, but still entitled – as if he believed having sex with me was his birthright,” Giuffre wrote. In February 2022, Andrew settled the lawsuit she filed against him for an unknown sum, without admitting any guilt or wrongdoing. According to The Guardian, he also pledged to “demonstrate his regret for his association” with Epstein, by supporting the “fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims”. In a 2019 BBC interview, Andrew first spoke at length publicly about his friendship with Epstein, who died by suicide in a jail cell that year. He said he never met Giuffre, despite a photograph showing them together. His explanations for his conduct were widely publicly criticised.