Who is Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor? Ex-prince tied to Epstein scandal
Who is Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor? Ex-prince tied to Epstein scandal
Melina Khan, USA TODAYThu, February 19, 2026 at 4:22 PM UTC
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Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's fall from grace has come to a head.
The former prince was reportedly arrested on Feb. 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public life.
Mountbatten-Windsor, who was formerly known as Prince Andrew, has faced intense scrutiny over his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The royal previously denied any wrongdoing. But he has not spoken out since the U.S. Justice Department released its latest batch of files on Epstein, which included an image of the former prince kneeling on all fours over an unidentified woman on the ground.
Before that, Mountbatten-Windsor appeared in multiple pages and images released by the U.S. government about Epstein since last fall.
Here's what to know about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was stripped of his royal title in 2025.
Live updates: Former Prince Andrew arrested; King Charles speaks out
1 / 0See disgraced royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's life of affluence
Disgraced former royal Andrew, the former Duke of York, has became a source of embarrassment for his brother King Charles III following a 2019 TV interview in which Andrew defended his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was stripped of his military titles in 2022 and senior royal status, shuffled off into retirement after being sued by Virginia Giuffre, an American woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her when she was 17. Andrew renounced his royal titles and honors amid continued scrutiny over his Epstein connections, despite denying all allegations against him. British police arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in public life, according to multiple news outlets in the United Kingdom on Feb. 19, 2026. Look back at his life in the royal family, including here as Andrew arrives for the Requiem Mass service for Katharine, Duchess of Kent, at Westminster Cathedral on Sept. 16, 2025, in London.
Who is Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor? Where does he fall in the royal family?
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is the third child of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. He has three siblings: King Charles III, Princess Anne and Prince Edward.
Andrew was married to Sarah Ferguson from 1986-1996. They have two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie.
Charles issued a statement after his brother's arrest, saying he learned about the arrest "with the deepest concern."
"What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation," the statement said.
Despite being stripped of his royal title, Mountbatten-Windsor remains eighth in the line of succession.
Why did Andrew lose his prince title?
In October 2025, Buckingham Palace announced that Andrew would be stripped of his royal title, and therefore no longer be known as Prince Andrew.
He was also pushed out of his royal residence at the Royal Lodge, instead taking residence at a property on the private Sandringham estate.
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In a statement at the time, Andrew cited "the continued accusations about me" as the reason for the decision.
"These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact that he continues to deny the allegations against him," Buckingham Palace said at the time, adding the king and queen's "thoughts and utmost sympathies" remain with victims and survivors of abuse.
Three years prior, in 2022, he was ousted as a senior royal following allegations over his connections to Epstein.
Why was Andrew arrested?
On Feb. 19, British police arrested Andrew on suspicion of misconduct in public life, according to multiple news outlets in the United Kingdom.
The U.K.'s Thames Valley Police said in a statement that they arrested an unnamed man in his 60s and were carrying out searches at addresses in Norfolk and Berkshire, England.
According to the Daily Telegraph newspaper, six unmarked police cars and several plainclothes officers were seen arriving to the Sandringham estate, where Andrew recently moved.
British police said earlier this month officers were considering allegations that Andrew passed confidential government documents to Epstein.
What to know about Andrew's connection to Virginia Roberts Giuffre
1 / 0Virginia Giuffre memoir on alleged abuse by Prince Andrew coming months after her death.Jeffrey Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre speaks at a press conference following a hearing where Jeffrey Epstein victims made statements, at Manhattan Federal Court on Aug. 27, 2019, in Manhattan, New York.
The late Virginia Roberts Giuffre was one of the most outspoken victims of Epstein and his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell.
In 2021, Giuffre filed a sex abuse lawsuit against Mountbatten-Windsor, alleging she was trafficked to him by Epstein when she was a teenager. The following year, Mountbatten-Windsor settled the lawsuit, though he continued to deny the allegations against him.
Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025. Her memoir "Nobody's Girl," which in part details her account of her relationship with Andrew, was released six months later.
After Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest, Giuffre's family issued a statement expressing gratitude for the Thames Valley Police.
"At last. Today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty," her brothers said in a statement attributed to them and their wives.
Contributing: Kim Hjelmgaard, Taijuan Moorman and Laura Trujillo, USA TODAY
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for USA TODAY. She can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to know about former Prince Andrew, from losing title to arrest
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