Some people expect to receive letters in the mail filled with cash and checks on their birthday. For others, a knock on the door by those kind of cops is a welcome gift. For Prince Andrew, his 66th birthday started with a trip to the booking station in handcuffs.
The disgraced second son of Queen Elizabeth II was escorted out of his temporary Norfolk home on Thursday morning by authorities who are investigating the former prince for possible misconduct while in public office.
Authorities are looking into an allegation claiming Prince Andrew—now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor—shared confidential information with Jeffrey Epstein while acting as the U.K.’s trade envoy.
Andrew has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
Andrew has been staying on King Charles’ Sandringham estate in Norfolk after being ordered to leave his 30-room Windsor Royal Lodge mansion by the King earlier this month. The former prince’s estrangement from the royal family is the least of his woes, as the prince’s funds are running low amid legal troubles.
Andrew’s financial standing has long been shrouded in secrecy among the Royal family, the Windsors, and their tax accountants. The former prince has been able to keep his financial affairs a secret for years through inventive uses of confidentiality clauses from his dealings with mainly wealthy foreign people.
However, after he reached a settled in a case stemming from his alleged abuse of Virginia Giuffre and his fall from grace that ensued, Andrew’s money troubles have come into public light.
In 2021, Giuffre filed a U.S. civil lawsuit accusing him of sexual assault, which led to a major television interview that forced him to step back from public life. To avoid a trial, Andrew and Giuffre settled out of court a year later, the same year he sold his Swiss ski resort property, Chalet Helora, according to The Guardian, for approximately £19 million ($25.5 million). However, due to the heavy mortgage debt on the property, the sale generated little to no profit for the former prince.
