October 5, 2026 / 8:49 AM EDT/ CBS/AFP
London— Disgraced former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has launched a legal challenge over search warrants for his royal homes that were issued before his February arrest, Britain's judiciary confirmed Monday.
The judiciary confirmed that the U.K. High Court was to hold a private hearing on Thursday, as King Charles III's brother challenges Thames Valley Police over the searches carried out in Windsor, west of London, and Sandringham, in eastern England.
The forcearrested Andrew on his 66th birthdayon Feb. 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office, related to hislinks to the late U.S. sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew was released the same day after hours of police questioning, but remained under investigation. He has denied all wrongdoing in his associations with the disgraced American financier.
His shock arrestprompted Charles to issue a statementinsisting "the law must take its course."
The Daily Telegraph reported the legal challenge late on Sunday. The newspaper noted it was the first time a member of Britain's royal family has challenged the lawfulness of criminal proceedings against them since the trial of Charles I in 1649.
It said Andrew's legal team wanted to examine whether the search warrants granted by a judge at London's Old Bailey court — formally known as the Central Criminal Court — were lawful.
Andrew's legal team did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.
The judiciary's press office said "the case concerns an application by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor for a judicial review to quash search warrants issued by a judge at the Central Criminal Court on 18 February 2026."
If the review were to throw out the warrants, it would potentially deprive prosecutors handling the case of any evidence discovered during the searches of the former prince's homes.
Andrew's arrest and the police searches marked a new low for the royal, who wasstripped of his royal titleslast year andousted from his Windsor homeover his Epstein connections. The government has evenmulled passing a lawto remove him from theroyal line of succession.
Scandal has engulfed the king's younger brother since one of Epstein's accusers, Virginia Giuffre, claimed in her posthumous memoirs that she had been trafficked three times to have sex with Andrew when she was a teenager.Giuffre died last yearby suicide at the age of 41.
The former prince has repeatedly denied the claims. Hesettled a U.S. civil lawsuitin 2022 brought by Giuffre while not admitting liability.
The Thames Valley Police probe follows new revelations from documents relating to the American financier released by the United States earlier this year, including emails in which Andrewappeared to share potentially confidential informationwith him.
