For years, Jeffrey Epstein’s name hovered over presidents, princes and power brokers like smoke that would not clear. Files were sealed. Names were whispered. Deals were struck.
No one at the very top had been arrested after the public release of those records.
Until now.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Prince Andrew and the younger brother of King Charles III, was arrested by British police in connection with newly disclosed Epstein materials.
Police confirmed they detained “a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk,” the BBC and the New York Times reported. Investigators are examining whether confidential government information from Andrew’s tenure as a British trade envoy was shared with Epstein.
A prince in custody.
That fact alone sends a message that power may not be an impenetrable shield.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer stated plainly that status would not interfere with justice.
“Nobody is above the law,” Starmer said.
There has been no signal that King Charles, who previously stripped his younger brother of his royal titles and duties, intends to intervene. Palace aides have reportedly cooperated with authorities, reinforcing the view that Mountbatten-Windsor will face the legal process without royal protection.
Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied wrongdoing tied to Epstein. However, he previously reached an out-of-court settlement with accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre without admitting liability.
The arrest has intensified scrutiny across political lines in the United States.
Hillary Clinton accused President Donald Trump’s administration of delaying transparency in the release of Epstein files.
“Get the files out. They are slow-walking it,” Clinton said in a BBC interview.
Trump has denied wrongdoing and retorted, “I’ve been exonerated. I had nothing to do with Jeffrey Epstein.”
Billionaire Les Wexner has also come under scrutiny but described Epstein as a “con man” who “lived a double life,” telling congressional investigators, “While I was conned, I have done nothing wrong and have nothing to hide.”
Bill Gates was also forced to respond to allegations tied to Epstein. Though his ex-wife recently declared that Gates’ ties to Epstein helped ruin their marriage, he called any wrongdoing “false.”
While American justice has moved seemingly at a snail’s pace, international prosecutors are moving rather swiftly following the most recent release by the U.S. Department of Justice of millions of documents from the Epstein files.
In Paris, authorities have opened two investigations connected to Epstein, one examining potential sex crimes and another focused on financial misconduct. French officials have urged victims to come forward and said they will rely on U.S. Justice Department files and new complaints in determining whether prosecutions proceed.
Reaction on social media proved swift.
“Wow! Prince Andrew, who turns 66 today, has been arrested for allegedly leaking files as trade envoy, possibly related to the Epstein scandal,” wrote Daniel Guss, known as @TheGussReport, on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Epstein died in federal custody in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Many believed that marked the end of any real accountability for the elite circle that surrounded him.
Now, a royal has been arrested.
“The disgraced monarch, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has been arrested in connection with the Epstein files. Little may come of it, but it seems like people in Europe are at least willing to try and hold powerful abusers to account,” Spencer Pennington, a Ph.D. candidate at UCLA, posting as @SpencerWP, wrote on X. “Here, they’re mostly still treated like demigods.”