Former Prince Andrew released 11 hours after arrest

London: Former Prince Andrew has been released after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

The Thames Valley Police force said the former prince was released Thursday evening. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was photographed in a car leaving the station near his home in eastern England about 11 hours after his arrest.

He was released under investigation, meaning he has neither been charged nor exonerated.

Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested early Thursday at his home by detectives investigating his ties to the late Jeffrey Epstein. Police said they had finished searching Mountbatten-Windsor’s home but were still searching another property.

The former Prince Andrew was arrested by British police Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his links to Jeffrey Epstein, an extraordinary move in a country where authorities once sought to shield the royal family from embarrassment.

It was the first time in nearly four centuries that a senior British royal was placed under arrest, and it underscored how deference to the monarchy has eroded in recent years.

King Charles III, whose late mother lived by the motto “never complain, never explain,” took the unusual step of issuing a statement on the arrest of his brother, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

“Let me state clearly: the law must take its course,” the king said. “As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter.”

The Thames Valley Police force, which covers areas west of London, including Mountbatten-Windsor’s former home, said Thursday that a man in his 60s, who is from Norfolk in eastern England, had been arrested and was in custody. Police did not identify the suspect, in line with standard procedures in Britain.

Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, moved to the king’s private estate in Norfolk after he was evicted from his longtime home near Windsor Castle earlier this month.

Police previously said they were “assessing” reports that Mountbatten-Windsor sent trade information to Epstein, a wealthy investor and convicted sex offender, in 2010, when the former prince was Britain’s special envoy for international trade. Correspondence between the two men was released by the U.S. Justice Department late last month, along with millions of pages of documents from the American investigation into Epstein.

“Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office,” Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said in a statement.

“We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time,” he added.

Police also said they were searching two properties.

Earlier in the day, pictures circulated online that appeared to show unmarked police cars at Wood Farm, Mountbatten-Windsor’s home on the Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, with plainclothes officers gathering outside.

Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing in his association with Epstein.

The allegations being investigated Thursday are separate from those made by Virginia Giuffre, who claimed she was trafficked to Britain to have sex with the prince in 2001, when she was just 17. Giuffre died by suicide last year.

Still, Giuffre’s family praised the arrest, saying that their “broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty.”