Have Any of the British Royals Been Arrested Before Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s Historic Bust?
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s 66th birthday will be spent somewhere that is rather unusual for a royal; the former prince has been arrested. As the legal system finally catches up with Andrew, who was implicated in Jeffrey Epstein’s sex trafficking ring, the world looks on. The arrest is a historic one. While Andrew was stripped of his titles, he’s still technically part of the royal family. That fact has led to big questions about past royal behavior and how it’s been handled in the legal system. While there have been some minor scrapes with the law for other British royals, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is the first modern British royal to be formally arrested, though royals from other nations have not always fared as well.
Everything we know about the former prince, Andrew’s arrest
It has been six years since Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, then known as Prince Andrew, sat down for a disastrous interview about his connection to Jeffrey Epstein. Since that day, the heat has been on, with the Royal family making moves to distance themselves from the former working royal as much as possible. In 2022, he wa stripped of his royal patronages. Last year, the king stripped him of his remaining royal titles and evicted him from Royal Lodge. Now, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested.
The news came on February 19: the former prince was arrested by police on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The date is significant as it is the former prince’s birthday. According to NBC News, Thames Valley Police made the arrest. They confirmed they had arrested a man in his 60s, but did not share the suspect’s identity. King Charles III later issued a statement, insisting that the law must take its course. It is unclear what comes next, but the charges could carry up to life in prison.
Who was the last British royal to be arrested?
While Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is the first modern British Royal to be taken into police custody, he’s not the first British Royal to ever be locked up. Before the disgraced former prince, King Charles I was detained, convicted, and ultimately sentenced to death in the 1600s. The tyrannical king was convicted of treason. He was executed on January 30, 1649, according toThe Historic Royal Palaces. The process was long, with the former king having been placed under house arrest two years earlier.
In more recent times, British royals have had run-ins with the law, but there have been no arrests before Andrew’s historic lockup. Princess Anne, for example, was cited and fined for having dangerous dogs after a 2002 incident. According to reports, the princess’s bull terrier, Dotty, attacked two children while off-leash in a park. She was fined over $700 and ordered to pay compensation, which she did. The dog was returned to her.
Zara Tindall, the daughter of Princess Anne and Captain Mark Phillips, made news in 2020 after a traffic stop led to a pretty serious citation. The non-working Royal was cited for driving significantly above the speed limit. She had been stopped several times before for the same infraction, leading to a six-month driving ban. She, like her mother, was not arrested for the incident. Zara has never held an official royal title.
This is a developing story…
