UK police agree searches for ex-prince Andrew’s homes ‘unlawful’: Judge

Former Prince Andrew secured a legal victory in the UK after police admitted the warrants used to search his royal residences were "unlawful," a High Court judge revealed on Thursday. The judge, Nicholas Hilliard, stated that the unlawful warrants do not automatically end the investigation or render the entire operation invalid. However, the court will eventually decide whether police can continue to hold the items seized during the raids, with both the judge and the police stressing the investigation remains active.

Prince Andrew, King Charles III's brother, was arrested on his 66th birthday in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office linked to his associations with late US sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Police conducted searches at his former homes in Windsor and Sandringham, but Andrew later challenged the legality of the warrants. This marks the first instance in British history where a member of the royal family has contested the lawfulness of criminal proceedings against them since the trial of Charles I in 1649.

The Daily Telegraph first reported the legal challenge on Sunday. In the first detailed public disclosures on the matter, High Court Judge Nicholas Hilliard disclosed that Thames Valley Police agreed the search warrants were unlawful. However, he added that the quashing of the warrants does not conclude the investigation or imply the whole process was unlawful.

Thames Valley Police acknowledged the warrant issuance was incorrect, but added that legal proceedings are ongoing to determine how the seized materials will be managed and whether they can be retained lawfully in support of the ongoing investigation. The arrest and searches have been a significant blow for Andrew, who was stripped of his royal titles and ousted from his Windsor home over Epstein connections.

The government has even considered passing a law to remove him from the line of succession. The scandal involving Andrew has deepened since a former victim claimed in posthumous memoirs that she was trafficked three times to have sex with him when she was a teenager. Andrew has consistently denied these allegations, settling a US civil lawsuit in 2022 brought by the accuser while not admitting liability.

The Thames Valley Police investigation follows new revelations from US documents, including emails that appeared to show Andrew sharing potentially confidential information with Epstein.