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Police in the United Kingdom investigating former prince Andrew said on Friday that they are also open to probing a claim of sexual misconduct against King Charles’ brother.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the second of the late queen Elizabeth’s three sons, was arrested in mid-February after new revelations stemming from his ties to the late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Detectives at Thames Valley Police said they had been in touch with the lawyer of a potential victim following reports a woman was brought to Windsor, west of London, where Andrew was a resident on the royal family’s estate, in 2010 “for sexual purposes.”
The force is reportedly concerned that the public believes they are only focused on accusations of misconduct in public office by Mountbatten-Windsor.
They have been probing allegations that Andrew shared sensitive information with the disgraced financier Epstein during the former prince’s decade as UK trade envoy.
The force said their investigation was “examining a number of aspects of alleged misconduct following the release of files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act in the United States.”
In addition to the investigation into misconduct in public office, it stressed “the assessment of reports that a woman was taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes is ongoing.”
“We have engaged with the woman’s legal representative to confirm 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 statement added.
The force repeated its appeal for anyone with relevant information to come forward.
Royal titles stripped
After his arrest in February, Mountbatten-Windsor was questioned for hours at a police station on suspicion of misconduct in public office during his time travelling around the world as a UK trade envoy from 2001-2011.
Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged, but remains under police caution.
He was stripped of his remaining royal titles in October by the king due to the growing scandal around his brother’s ties to Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.
He was also ousted from his previous home at Royal Lodge in Windsor and has moved to the king’s private Sandringham estate, in eastern Norfolk.
Allegations of potential sexual misconduct at Royal Lodge emerged earlier this year.
Lawyer Brad Edwards of US firm Edwards Henderson told the BBC in January that one woman, who is not British and was in her 20s at the time, was given a tour of Buckingham Palace and tea after allegedly spending the night with Andrew at his Windsor residence in 2010.
“We’re talking about at least one woman who was sent by Jeffrey Epstein over to Prince Andrew,” the lawyer was quoted as saying.
Additional sources • AFP