The former Prince Andrew went from helicopter pilot to trade envoy to royal pariah

LONDON — He was reportedly his mother Queen Elizabeth II's favorite, but the former Prince Andrew has long been a headache for Britain's royal family.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested Thursday, his 66th birthday, on suspicion of misconduct in public office in an inquiry stemming from his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. He is the first senior British royal to be arrested since King Charles I, almost 400 years ago.

Born a prince in 1960, Andrew is the third child and second son of the queen and her husband Prince Philip. His elder brother Charles was destined for the throne. Andrew took a tried-and-tested route for younger royal sons: military service.

After 22 years in the Royal Navy, including combat operations as a helicopter pilot during the 1982 Falklands War, Andrew was named Britain's special representative for international trade and investment in 2001. His frequent taxpayer-funded travel saw him dubbed ''Air Miles Andy'' by the press.

The current police investigation stems from that period. It follows documents in recently released Epstein files that suggest Andrew passed on official government documents to the late financier when he was a trade envoy. The former prince has not been charged with a crime. He has long denied any wrongdoing over his Epstein links.

Links to questionable characters

Once a subject of media fascination for his love life, the man the tabloids dubbed ''Randy Andy'' became a regular source of headlines because of his money woes and links to questionable characters, including Epstein, the American financier and convicted sex offender.

Mountbatten-Windsor was forced to step down from the trade role in 2011 amid growing concern about his friendship with Epstein, who had been sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2008 after pleading guilty to soliciting a minor for prostitution.

In 2015, U.S. court documents contained allegations that Andrew had sex with a woman three times between 1999 and 2002 in London, New York and on Epstein's private Caribbean island, including when she was a minor under U.S. law. He denied having ever met the woman, later identified as Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

After Epstein was arrested again in 2019, Andrew gave a disastrous interview to the BBC's Newsnight program, in which he tried to explain away his contacts with Epstein. It backfired — he was widely criticized for giving unbelievable explanations and failing to show empathy for Epstein's victims.

Royal exile

Amid the backlash, Andrew announced on Nov. 20, 2019, that he was giving up public duties and charity roles ''for the foreseeable future.''

Andrew ultimately settled the case for an undisclosed sum. While he didn't admit wrongdoing, Andrew did acknowledge Giuffre's suffering as a victim of sex trafficking. Giuffre died by suicide in April 2025, aged 41.

In 2024, a court case revealed Andrew's relationship with a businessman and suspected Chinese spy who was barred from the United Kingdom as a threat to national security. Authorities were concerned that the man could have misused his influence over Andrew, according to court documents.

After emails emerged showing Andrew remained in contact with Epstein longer than he previously claimed and Giuffre's posthumous memoir brought new allegations, King Charles III in October stripped his brother of his titles of prince and Duke of York and evicted him from his Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor.

The release of millions of pages of Epstein files by the U.S. Department of Justice last month sparked new scrutiny.

Andrew spent about 11 hours in police custody on Thursday before being released under investigation, meaning he has neither been charged nor exonerated.

He married Sarah Ferguson in 1986 and they had two daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, before divorcing a decade later. Ferguson also is facing questions about her friendship with Epstein.

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