Police accept search warrants on Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's homes were unlawful; probe continues

Mixed · 2On Thursday 8 October 2026 Mr Justice Hilliard told the High Court that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Thames Valley Police had agreed the search warrants used to raid two of his properties earlier this year were unlawful, and the warrants were quashed. 1 2 Left · 3The warrants, granted by a judge at the Old Bailey on 18 February, covered his residence on the Sandringham estate and his former Windsor home, Royal Lodge. He was arrested on 19 February, his 66th birthday, on suspicion of misconduct in public office, after allegations that he shared sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein while UK trade envoy. He was questioned and released under investigation, and denies wrongdoing. 3 1 4 Mixed · 2Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor brought a judicial review challenging the actions of the force's chief constable and the Central Criminal Court, which issued the warrants. The Guardian reported that the police conceded they had obtained the search powers under the wrong statutory provision. 5 4

Mixed · 2According to the judge, police conceded that the issuing judge could not properly have been satisfied that the material sought did not include items subject to legal privilege or "special procedure material", because searching for such material was envisaged in the application. The Daily Mirror reported the judge saying such non-compliance was enough to make the warrants unlawful. 1 3 Mixed · 2Thames Valley Police said: "We accept the position that the initial court's decision to issue warrants under the specific piece of legislation used was incorrect and therefore these must be legally quashed." It said the agreement was not a judgement on its ongoing investigation and that it had given the court all the necessary information. 2 6 Mixed · 2The judge stressed that quashing the warrants "does not bring an investigation to an end, or mean that the whole of the investigation was unlawful", and police said their investigation into alleged misconduct in public office by a man in his 60s from Norfolk remains ongoing. 1 3

Mixed · 2Police applied in June to keep the seized material despite the warrants being unlawful, arguing it could have been lawfully seized under a different statutory provision. Mountbatten-Windsor opposes this, and the application is due to be heard in private in 2027. 1 4 Centre · 1Thursday's hearing had been expected to deal with a police bid to restrict access to documents in the claim, but the judge said police indicated on Wednesday they no longer pursued it. Mountbatten-Windsor did not attend. 1 Mixed · 2Earlier this week a Buckingham Palace source said he had been told not to use the annual stipend from King Charles's private funds to pay for the legal action. The King stripped him of his prince title and dukedom late last year over his Epstein links. 7 4