The former Prince Andrew is fighting back. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III, has gone to court against the police force that arrested him in February, asking a judge to decide whether the warrants officers used to search two of his homes were lawful.
The challenge was first reported late Sunday by Britain’s Daily Telegraph and confirmed Monday by police. The BBC described it as the 66-year-old’s first public attempt to push back since the scandal over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein cost him his titles, his longtime home and his place in public life.
What Andrew is challenging
Mountbatten-Windsor’s lawyers have applied for a judicial review, a type of case in which a judge examines whether officials acted within the law. The challenge targets the warrants that allowed officers to search Marsh Farm, his home on the king’s Sandringham estate in Norfolk, and Royal Lodge, the Windsor mansion where he lived for years.
According to the BBC, a judge at London’s Central Criminal Court, better known as the Old Bailey, issued the warrants on Feb. 18, the day before his arrest. The case names the court itself as well as the chief constable of Thames Valley Police.
Thames Valley Police acknowledged the case in a short statement. “Whilst our investigation into misconduct in public office continues, we are engaged in legal proceedings in relation to warrants previously obtained from the Central Criminal Court,” a spokesperson said. “As these legal proceedings are currently ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.”
An arrest on his birthday
Officers detained Mountbatten-Windsor at Marsh Farm on Feb. 19, his 66th birthday, on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was taken to a police station in Aylsham, Norfolk, and released under investigation later that day after about 11 hours in custody, the BBC reported. He has not been charged.
CNN described him as the first senior royal to be arrested in centuries. In the days that followed, police were seen searching both properties.
The investigation grew out of the Epstein files, records released by the US Justice Department. According to the BBC, they included emails that appeared to show him sharing official documents with Epstein and others while he was Britain’s trade envoy, a role he held from 2001 to 2011. He has always denied wrongdoing over his friendship with Epstein.
Hours after the arrest, the king said he had learned the news with “the deepest concern.” He added: “Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.”
A long fall from royal life
His retreat from public life began in 2019, when he quit royal duties after a widely criticized BBC “Newsnight” interview about his friendship with Epstein. In January 2022, after a US judge declined to dismiss Virginia Giuffre’s lawsuit accusing him of sexual abuse, his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, took away his honorary military roles and royal patronages. He denied Giuffre’s claims and reached a settlement with her weeks later. Giuffre died in April 2025.
In October 2025, Buckingham Palace announced that the king had begun formally removing his brother’s remaining titles and honors, including the title of prince, and that Andrew would give up his lease on Royal Lodge.
What’s next
The judiciary’s press office has said the case is due to be heard in private on Thursday, Oct. 8. The first issue for the judge is a police request to keep some court documents confidential.
Even a win for Mountbatten-Windsor may not change much. Nick Vamos, a criminal lawyer who once headed the special crime division at the Crown Prosecution Service, told the BBC that “even if Andrew succeeds in having the search warrants quashed, that would not necessarily be the victory it might first appear.” He explained that police can sometimes ask a court to let them keep material they have already seized.
Thames Valley Police says its investigation into the former prince remains open.
