Viral photo shows Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor leaving police custody after questioning over Epstein documents
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of Britain’s King Charles, was released from police custody after a day of questioning over allegations he sent confidential government documents to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. A stark photograph of the former prince slumped in the back of a Range Rover as he left Aylsham police station in Norfolk went viral after it was published late yesterday.
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Thames Valley Police, which covers southeast England, led the questioning. In a statement released yesterday, Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said the investigation concerns suspicion of misconduct in public office and is not related to any allegation of sexual impropriety. Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied wrongdoing connected to Epstein and has previously said he regrets their friendship.
The image — captured by Reuters photographer Phil Noble — spread rapidly across global media, crystallizing a day of intense speculation around the rare sight of a senior royal in police custody. Mr. Noble’s picture shows Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor staring ahead, visibly shaken, as the vehicle pulls away from the station in the historic market town about an hour from his home.
The arrest was first reported early yesterday, setting off a scramble among journalists to locate where the royal was being held. With Thames Valley officers involved, there were potentially dozens of police stations where the interview could have taken place. Acting on a tip, Mr. Noble drove six hours from Manchester to Aylsham, arriving to find only a small media presence, including Reuters video journalist Marissa Davison.
Hours passed with little movement. “There’s so many moving parts,” Mr. Noble said of the stakeout. Darkness fell, and the two Reuters journalists booked nearby hotel rooms, uncertain they had chosen the right location. Then Ms. Davison called: cars linked to Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor had arrived at the station.
Mr. Noble raced back and positioned himself as two vehicles exited at speed — a lead car with two police officers and a second car behind. He aimed his camera and flash at the trailing vehicle. Of the six frames he managed to fire, two showed police, two were blank, one was out of focus. One, however, captured what he described as an unprecedented scene: a senior royal departing police custody.
“When you’re doing car shots it’s more luck than judgment,” Mr. Noble said. He added that he had not closely examined the former prince’s expression in the moment; he was focused on whether he had made the frame at all.
The photograph’s rapid circulation added to the sense of gravity around the investigation into Mr. Mountbatten-Windsor. His office did not respond to a request for comment yesterday. He has not spoken publicly since the release by the U.S. government of millions of pages of documents related to Epstein, who was convicted in 2008 of soliciting prostitution from a minor.
Police did not provide further details on the timeline of the inquiry or next steps. The questioning, the unusual venue in rural Norfolk, and the stark image from Aylsham police station have combined to place renewed scrutiny on a member of Britain’s most scrutinized family — and on what, if anything, comes next.
By Abdiwahab Ahmed
Axadle Times international–Monitoring.
