Thames Valley Police add 2002 Royal Ascot allegation to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor inquiry as US delays handing over Epstein documents
Thames Valley Police are investigating an allegation, reported by the Sunday Times, that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor behaved inappropriately towards a woman at Royal Ascot in 2002, the year of Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee, as the force widens its inquiry to cover sexual misconduct alongside an existing probe for misconduct in public office. The king's brother, who denies all wrongdoing, was arrested on his 66th birthday in February after the release of US Department of Justice documents that alleged he had passed information to Jeffrey Epstein; TVP is also assessing a separate claim from a US-resident woman that she was taken to a Windsor address in 2010 for sexual purposes. UK forces still only hold printouts from the US DoJ website, with US authorities declining to release originals and telling British police that a formal international legal request "could take months, if it is agreed to at all".
Thames Valley Police are looking into an allegation that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor behaved inappropriately towards a woman at Royal Ascot in 2002, according to a Sunday Times report. The alleged incident is said to have taken place at the annual five-day racing event in Berkshire that year, the year of Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee; the Sunday Times report did not establish whether the claim was reported to officers at the time or only recently. A police spokesperson said of the wider misconduct-in-public-office investigation: "We cannot go into specifics of the investigation, but we are following all reasonable lines of inquiry."
On Friday Thames Valley police indicated that the investigation into the king's brother was wider than many had previously believed and also covered sexual misconduct. He was arrested on his 66th birthday in February and questioned under criminal caution on suspicion of misconduct in public office, related to his role as a British trade envoy, after the US Department of Justice released documents that alleged he had passed information to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Officers conducted a short search of his Norfolk home and a week-long search on the Windsor estate where he lived for decades. The former prince denies all wrongdoing.
On Friday TVP also appealed for witnesses to come forward with information about alleged sexual misconduct, corruption, fraud or the sharing of confidential information involving the king's brother, after detectives became concerned that people who may have information were wrongly assuming they were interested only in the sharing of confidential information. Misconduct in public office, the force noted, covers a range of offences including sexual misconduct, wilful neglect of duty, perverting the course of justice, and dishonest or fraudulent conduct.
TVP is still assessing a separate claim from a woman who alleges she was taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes; that line is not yet a full criminal investigation, and detectives are in contact with the woman, who lives in the US, through her lawyer. Three British police forces are conducting full criminal investigations triggered by other revelations in the Epstein files, with several others assessing claims about flights linked to the financier entering the UK.
Among the challenges facing Thames Valley police are establishing whether Mountbatten-Windsor's role as a trade envoy is covered by misconduct-in-public-office rules, and obtaining the original Epstein documents. UK forces currently hold only printouts from the US DoJ website. US authorities have declined to hand over the originals and have told British police to submit a formal international legal request for assistance, which "could take months, if it is agreed to at all". Friday's widening of the probe followed Thames Valley Police's May 22 confirmation that the inquiry had expanded to include sexual-misconduct allegations alongside the public-office strand.