Former Duke of York Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has launched legal action against Thames Valley Police over his arrest in a case involving Jeffrey Epstein documents, infohub.kz reports.
According to The Telegraph, the former prince's detention eight months ago sparked enormous public outcry. He has now asked the court to determine whether the police's actions against him were lawful.
He filed a judicial review claim over the search warrants that allowed police to raid his home at the Sandringham estate and his former residence, Royal Lodge in Windsor.
This is the first time since the trial of Charles I in 1649 that a member of the royal family has challenged the legality of a criminal prosecution against himself. His lawyers intend to examine the legality of the search warrants issued by a Central Criminal Court (Old Bailey) judge at the request of Thames Valley Police.
As the publication has learned, a closed hearing is due to be held at the High Court this week to decide whether certain court documents related to the case will be disclosed.
Recall that in February we reported that former Prince Andrew was suspected of abusing his position while holding official roles. Andrew was previously stripped of his princely title after his close ties to Epstein came to light. Epstein had been accused of sex trafficking of minors and was found hanged in his prison cell in 2019.
Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing in connection with the Epstein case and said he regretted his friendship with him. Incidentally, Charles III commented on the situation the day before.
It also emerged that the younger brother of British King Charles III, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, was released after nearly 12 hours of questioning. Later, eerie photos of former Prince Andrew and a child appeared in the media.