Is Ex-Prince Andrew Facing Charges? US Government Refuses To Hand Over Unredacted Epstein Files To UK Police Probe

Thames Valley Police confirmed on Friday in the UK that detectives are still investigating Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the ex-Prince Andrew, over potential misconduct in public office and assessing possible sexual offences, while the US government refuses to release unredacted Epstein files that could inform the probe. Senior officers say the work, which follows Andrew's arrest on his 66th birthday in February, may continue for months and have urged potential witnesses and victims to come forward.

The investigation into the former senior royal centres on his decade as the UK's special trade envoy between 2001 and 2011 and his association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The original misconduct allegation is that Andrew provided commercially valuable information to Epstein while acting in that quasi-diplomatic role, a period now being reassessed in light of newly public 'Epstein files' released by US authorities in heavily redacted form.

Ex-Prince Andrew, Epstein Files And A Widening Police Inquiry

Detectives say they have widened their work to look at 'a number of aspects of alleged misconduct,' including potential sexual wrongdoing and corruption. Officers, including specialists in complex sexual offence investigations, are said to be examining material seized in a week-long fingertip search of Andrew's former 30-room Royal Lodge residence in Windsor.

Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright set out the current position in a carefully worded statement. 'Our misconduct in public office investigation is continuing. Misconduct in public office is a crime that can take different forms, making this a complex investigation,' he said.

He added that a 'team of very experienced detectives' is 'working meticulously through a significant amount of information that has come in from the public.' The force, he said, is 'committed to conducting a thorough investigation into all reasonable lines of enquiry, wherever they may lead.'

Police have stressed that any possible victims will be treated with 'care, sensitivity and respect' and are being encouraged to use non-urgent contact channels, including an online portal, if they wish to speak to officers. The language is deliberately reassuring but also a reminder that, at this stage, nothing has been tested in court and nothing is confirmed; all claims remain allegations and should be treated with a degree of caution.

Alongside the misconduct in public office strand, Thames Valley Police are continuing to assess a report that a woman was taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 'for sexual purposes.' The alleged incident reportedly took place at Royal Lodge, then Andrew's residence. The woman, not British and in her twenties at the time, has not made a formal criminal complaint, but officers have been in contact with her lawyer.

The force told her legal representative that, should she wish to report the matter, 'it will be taken seriously and handled with care, sensitivity and respect for her privacy and her right for anonymity.' In a further statement, officers acknowledged 'how difficult it can be to speak about experiences of this nature' and insisted any approach to police would be 'led by her wishes.'

Her lawyer, Brad Edwards, has previously stated, 'We're talking about at least one woman who was sent by Jeffrey Epstein over to Prince Andrew.' He says the woman alleges she spent the night with Andrew, and was later given tea and a tour of Buckingham Palace. Those claims have not been tested in court, and nothing in this part of the investigation has yet led to charges.

US Holds Back Key Epstein Files As Misconduct Case Drags On

The Ex-Prince Andrew, Epstein files nexus has become central to what happens next. British officers are supporting a national effort, overseen by a 'gold group' hosted by the National Police Chiefs' Council, to sift allegations arising from documents related to Epstein and his associates.

Only redacted versions of those files have been published by the US Department of Justice on its website. According to Thames Valley Police, the DoJ has indicated it will not hand over the underlying, unredacted papers unless it receives a formal request. It is understood that so far no such material has been disclosed to the UK side, raising obvious questions about how quickly detectives can piece together a full picture.

Emails released within the redacted Epstein files already suggest Andrew passed on reports to Epstein about visits to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam, including confidential details of investment opportunities. Trade envoys are bound by rules that require confidentiality over sensitive commercial and political information gathered on official trips. Whether that role in Andrew's case amounts to 'public office' is disputed, because the law in this area is ambiguous. He has 'consistently and strenuously' denied any wrongdoing.

Under guidance from the Crown Prosecution Service, misconduct in public office involves 'serious wilful abuse or neglect' of the powers or responsibilities of a public role. The CPS notes that abuse of position for a sexual purpose is one way that offence can be committed and stresses that 'members of the public expect to be able to trust persons who hold positions of power to act professionally and not to use their position to instigate (or attempt to instigate) sexual or otherwise inappropriate relationships.' The offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, although any eventual penalty would depend on the facts of a specific case.

The allegations around Andrew did not begin with the current probe. In 2014, Virginia Giuffre became the first woman to publicly accuse him of sexually abusing her while she was 17. She alleged she had been trafficked by Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell for that purpose, and later brought a civil lawsuit in the US in 2021, reportedly seeking around £12 million.

Andrew has always denied her claims. The article states she 'took her own life last year,' a detail that, if accurate, has not been independently corroborated here.

Meanwhile, the political backdrop has grown more awkward for the palace. Files released on Thursday show that Queen Elizabeth II was, in the words of Sir David Wright, then head of British Trade International, 'very keen' for her son to become a trade envoy in 2000, wanting him to take on 'a prominent role in the promotion of national interests.' Those government papers were disclosed after a request from Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey, and they underline how deeply Andrew's public role was once woven into the machinery of the state.

Because Andrew was released under investigation rather than charged or bailed, police and prosecutors face no fixed deadline to decide his fate. The force has already warned the inquiry will run for many months. That may suit detectives methodically working through the Ex-Prince Andrew, Epstein files trail, but it keeps the question hanging over whether a man who once fronted Britain's trade ambitions will ever face a courtroom over what he is alleged to have done in that role.

Originally published on IBTimes UK

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Prince Andrew, Uk