Former Prince Andrew challenges warrants used to search royal homes

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is asking Britain’s High Court to throw out the warrants police used to search his homes during an investigation into his ties to Jeffrey Epstein. The challenge comes after the former prince’s arrest in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The judiciary confirmed Monday that Andrew has applied for a judicial review to quash search warrants issued by a judge at London’s Central Criminal Court on Feb. 18, 2026. The warrants covered searches at his home on the Sandringham royal estate in eastern England and his former Royal Lodge residence in Windsor, west of London.

A private hearing is expected Thursday. The judiciary said the hearing will address an application by Thames Valley Police to restrict access to court documents in the case.

Police arrested Andrew, King Charles III’s younger brother, on Feb. 19, his 66th birthday. He was released later that day after questioning and remains under investigation. He has denied wrongdoing.

The investigation follows allegations that Andrew shared sensitive information with Epstein while serving as the United Kingdom’s trade envoy, Al Jazeera reported. According to CBS News, documents released by U.S. authorities earlier this year include a November 2010 email in which Andrew appeared to send Epstein reports on visits to several Asian countries. Epstein had been convicted in the United States two years earlier of procuring a child for prostitution.

Andrew’s challenge concerns the lawfulness of the search warrants, CBS News reported. If a court throws them out, prosecutors could potentially lose access to evidence found during the searches. Police searched both properties after the arrest; according to CBS News, the search at Windsor lasted six days.

“Whilst our investigation into misconduct in public office continues, we are engaged in legal proceedings in relation to warrants previously obtained from the Central Criminal Court,” Thames Valley Police said in a statement. “As these legal proceedings are currently ongoing, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.”

Charles said after his brother’s arrest that “the law must take its course,” CBS News reported. Andrew was stripped of his royal titles last year amid scrutiny of his association with Epstein and was ousted from his Windsor home, according to CBS News.

The former prince has also faced allegations from Virginia Giuffre, who said in a memoir published after her death that she had been trafficked to have sex with Andrew three times when she was a teenager. Andrew has repeatedly denied her claims. He settled a U.S. civil lawsuit brought by Giuffre in 2022 without admitting liability. Giuffre died by suicide last year at age 41, CBS News reported.

According to CBS News, at least nine British police forces have said they are examining claims, some involving Andrew, arising from roughly 3 million Epstein-related files released by U.S. authorities in January. Thames Valley Police has not announced an outcome in its investigation.