With the investigation into misconduct in public office, detectives continue to assess reports that a woman was taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes
Prince Andrew, Duke of York attends Katharine, Duchess of Kent’s Requiem Mass service at Westminster Cathedral on September 16, 2025 in London, England.(Image: 2025 Max Mumby/Indigo)
Detectives investigating Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor over potential misconduct in public office are assessing claims of sexual offences. A woman allegedly sent by paedophile Jeffrey Epstein to the former prince’s Royal Lodge home is at the centre of the probe. Thames Valley officers are said to be examining “a number of aspects of alleged misconduct”, including sexual wrongdoing and corruption. They are understood to be working through material seized in a week-long fingertip search at Mountbatten-Windsor’s former Royal Lodge mansion in Windsor. A woman, who is not British and was in her 20s at the time, is at the heart of the investigation. Her lawyer, Brad Edwards, has previously said: “We’re talking about at least one woman who was sent by Jeffrey Epstein over to Prince Andrew.”
Mr Edwards added that after spending the night with the former prince, the woman says she was given tea and a tour of Buckingham Palace.
Mountbatten-Windsor was released under investigation in February after he was arrested on his 66th birthday and quizzed on suspicion of misconduct in a public office. The original allegations were that he gave commercially valuable information to paedophile friend Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the UK’s special trade envoy from 2001 to 2011. Officers, including those specialising in sexual offences, are following several lines of inquiry in the wake of the publication of the Epstein files. Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said on Thursday: “Misconduct in public office is a crime that can take different forms, making this a complex investigation. Our team of very experienced detectives are working meticulously through a significant amount of information from the public and other sources. “We are committed to conducting a thorough investigation into all reasonable lines of enquiry. We encourage anyone with information to get in touch with us through non-urgent channels, such as the Thames Valley Police online portal.” The force is supporting national policing in contacting Epstein victims and survivors. It said: “We hope that anyone with relevant information will come forward whenever they are ready to engage with us.” A group hosted by the National Police Chiefs’ Council is coordinating UK policing efforts to examine allegations contained in the Epstein files. Along with the misconduct probe, detectives are assessing reports that a woman was taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes. They have told her lawyer that should she wish to report this to police, “it will be taken seriously and handled with care, sensitivity and respect for her privacy and her right for anonymity”. The force added: “We recognise how difficult it can be to speak about experiences of this nature. Any contact with police will be led by her wishes, when and if she feels ready and able to do so.”
In 2014, Virginia Giuffre became the first woman to publicly accuse Mountbatten-Windsor of similar allegations. She claimed that aged 17 she was trafficked by Epstein and his girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, and forced to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor – which he denies. She took her own life last year. As Mountbatten-Windsor was released under investigation, police and prosecution lawyers have no time limits before deciding whether to charge him. The investigation is expected to take many months. Only redacted copies of documents relating to Epstein have been published by the US Department of Justice. It told UK police it will not hand over the original papers without a formal request. It is understood that none have been disclosed so far. According to emails released in the files, the former prince passed on reports to the disgraced financier of visits to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam and confidential details of investment opportunities. Trade envoys have a duty of confidentiality over sensitive, commercial or political information about their official visits under official rules. It is not clear if Mountbatten-Windsor’s job made him a public official due to the ambiguity of the law relating to the charge. He has consistently and strenuously denied any wrongdoing. Misconduct in public office involves “serious wilful abuse or neglect” of the power or responsibilities of the public office held.
Abuse of position can take many forms, including “for a sexual purpose” and the offence carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. In 2016 the Met Police decided not to proceed after Ms Giuffre filed court papers in Florida alleging she was trafficked by Epstein and Maxwell to have sex with Mountbatten-Windsor while a minor.
Epstein took his own life in a New York prison in 2019 ahead of a sex-trafficking trial. Maxwell was jailed in 2022 for 20 years in the US for helping Epstein abuse young girls.
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