ALBAWABA - Prince Andrew arrested as misconduct investigation unfolds in Britain.
Prince Andrew, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was taken on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Andrew is the younger brother of King Charles III and used to be known as Prince Andrew. He has since been freed while a probe is going on, and he has not been charged.
Thames Valley Police said in a statement that they had "arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are searching addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk."
The statement said, "We will not name the arrested man because that is against national policy."
Police said that the searches in Norfolk are now over, but the searches in Berkshire are still going on.
Pictures taken at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate in eastern England seemed to show police officers coming in several unmarked cars. Andrew will be 66 years old on Thursday.
Charles said in a statement on Thursday, "I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and the suspicion of misconduct in public office. "What comes next is the full, fair, and right way for this problem to be looked into by the right people and in the right way. I have already told them that they have our full backing and help in this matter," Charles said. I want to be clear: the law has to run its course. Since this process is still going on, it wouldn't be right for me to say anything else about it. My family and I will continue to do our job and serve you all until then.
The Prince and Princess of Wales said they stood with the king in a statement.
Andrew was arrested on Thursday after papers showed that he had been talking to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew has said in the past that he did nothing wrong with Epstein.
If found guilty, misconduct in public office can result in prison time.
In recent years, no important royals have been jailed. In November 2002, Princess Anne received a 500 English pounds fine after she admitted to allowing her dog to run amok and injure someone.
The palace told ABC News that they did not know about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest before it happened.
Thames Valley Police told ABC News last week that they were looking into reports that Andrew had done something wrong as a trade envoy. "We can confirm that we have received this report and are going through the usual steps to look into it," a Thames Valley Police spokesman said in a statement on February 9.
