Key moments leading to Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest over his links to Epstein

LONDON — Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office following a raft of disclosures related to his relationship with late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He was released around 11 hours later under investigation, which means he has not been charged nor exonerated.

The man formerly known as Prince Andrew has for years faced a series of allegations over his contacts with the disgraced financier, most recently in the wake of the release of more than 3 million pages of documents related to Epstein from the U.S. Justice Department.

Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, is accused of sharing confidential trade information with the disgraced financier. He has denied any wrongdoing.

Following are some key moments in Mountbatten-Windsor's fall from grace as King Charles III 's younger brother:

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2011

Andrew is forced to resign as Britain's special trade envoy following the first reports of his links to Epstein, who was convicted and jailed three years earlier for sex offenses involving a minor.

Epstein is arrested for a second time on charges of sex trafficking and later dies by suicide in a New York jail cell. The news focuses public attention on allegations that the then-prince had sex with at least one underage teenager trafficked by Epstein. Andrew denies the allegations.

Nov. 16, 2019

Andrew attempts to contain the flood of criticism by agreeing to an on-camera grilling by BBC reporter Emily Maitlis. The interview backfires when Andrew defends his relationship with Epstein, fails to show empathy for his victims and offers explanations of his behavior that many people find hard to believe. Andrew says he broke off contact with Epstein in December 2010, a date that will come back to haunt him.

November 2019

Prince Andrew announces he will step back from public duties ''for the foreseeable future'' because of his association with a notorious American sex offender.

Andrew agrees to settle a New York civil lawsuit filed by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged that she was forced to have sex with the prince when she was 17. While Andrew didn't admit to any of Giuffre's allegations, he acknowledged that she had suffered as a victim of sexual abuse. Legal experts estimate that the undisclosed settlement cost Andrew as much as $10 million. The source of the funds has remained murky ever since.

April 25, 2025

Virginia Giuffre dies by suicide in Australia, where she had lived since about 2002.

Oct. 12, 2025

British newspapers reveal that Andrew sent an email to Epstein on Feb. 28, 2011, more than two months after he had told BBC he had cut off all contact with his one-time friend. Andrew wrote they were ''in this together'' and would ''have to rise above it.''

Andrew says he is giving up his royal titles, including that of Duke of York, and other honors because ''the continued accusations about me distract from the work of His Majesty and the royal family.''

Oct, 21, 2025

In her posthumous book, Giuffre recounts details of how she first met Andrew in March 2001, and that she was forced to have sex with him on three separate occasions.

Oct. 30, 2025

The king strips his brother of his remaining titles and honors, including the one he has held since birth — prince. He is to be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor — and he subsequently gains a hyphen. The king also serves notice for Andrew to leave Royal Lodge, his 30-room stately home near Windsor Castle, where he has lived for more than 20 years. He agrees to relocate to his brother's private and remote Sandringham Estate

The U.S. Justice Department publishes the Epstein files, which appear to reveal further unsavory details about the relationship between Andrew and Epstein. One picture of Mountbatten-Windsor crouching over an unnamed woman on the floor in what appears to be Epstein's apartment in New York causes widespread consternation and disgust. Among the allegations that emerge over the ensuing days is that Mountbatten-Windsor sent Epstein confidential reports from a 2010 tour of Southeast Asia, which he undertook as Britain's envoy for international trade. That proved to be the catalyst for his arrest.

Feb. 2

Mountbatten-Windsor leaves his mansion at Windsor Castle to live in a much-smaller property on the king's Sandringham Estate.

Feb. 9

The king indicates that he is ready to ''support'' police examining claims that his brother gave confidential information to Epstein.