UK police expand Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor investigation

2 min readUpdated May 22, 2026

On Friday, Thames Valley Police issued a call for witnesses as the force widened its inquiry into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, expanding the scope beyond an existing misconduct in public office investigation to encompass potential sexual offenses.

Authorities confirmed they are evaluating claims that a woman was transported to a Windsor address in 2010 for sexual purposes, according to The Associated Press. In a statement, police said they reached out to the woman's legal representative to convey that any decision by her to come forward would be met with seriousness and handled with care, sensitivity, and privacy protections, including her right under U.K. law to lifelong anonymity.

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Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said the misconduct in public office inquiry remains active and complex. "Misconduct in public office is a crime that can take different forms, making this a complex investigation," Wright told the AP. "Our team of very experienced detectives are working meticulously through a significant amount of information that has come in from the public and other sources."

According to The New York Times, Thames Valley Police disclosed that it has been sharing information with the U.S. Justice Department and that its work forms part of a coordinated effort spanning nine U.K. forces responding to the release of the Epstein files.

The February arrest stemmed from accusations that, during his tenure as Britain's special envoy for international trade between 2001 and 2011, Mountbatten-Windsor passed confidential government trade reports to Epstein. No criminal charges have been filed, and Mountbatten-Windsor maintains his innocence.

The police update came a day after the U.K. government released confidential documents related to Mountbatten-Windsor's appointment as trade envoy. According to The New York Times, the newly disclosed files, released after lawmakers passed a parliamentary motion demanding their publication, revealed that the late Queen Elizabeth II had been the driving force behind securing the position for her son. "The Queen's wish is that the Duke $DUK of Kent should be succeeded in this role by the Duke of York," one document from 2000 read, using the title Mountbatten-Windsor held at the time.

According to the AP, it was last year that King Charles III removed Mountbatten-Windsor's royal titles, a move widely seen as an effort to insulate the monarchy from the deepening controversy surrounding Epstein. According to The New York Times, Virginia Giuffre brought her account to the Metropolitan Police as early as 2015, describing how she had been flown to London in 2001 by Epstein and Maxwell and made to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor at the age of 17. Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied wrongdoing in relation to those allegations. Giuffre died by suicide in 2025.

U.K. police broaden Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor probe to include sexual misconduct

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