'Reclusive Andrew is willing to fight humiliation of birthday arrest despite living in limbo'

It was almost 400 years ago that the last royal challenged the lawfulness of criminal proceedings against them. Back then, in 1649 it was Charles I who argued against the legality of trying him for treason. But fast-forward to the present day, and it’s disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor who is taking legal action against Thames Valley Police in a bid to quash search warrants which led to his dramatic arrest. The former Duke of York has not spoken publicly about his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office following allegations he shared sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy. Although the now infamous snap of him looking shell-shocked as he was driven away from a Norfolk police station said everything about his state of mind at the time. Since that day, a 66th birthday he won’t forget, he appears to have mainly holed himself up at his new home of Marsh Farm on the Sandringham estate, only being pictured fleetingly either driving his car or walking his dogs. It is understood that he has not had any contact with his older brother the King since then and is said to have felt to have been ‘living in limbo’ while detectives complete their investigation into his conduct. So now, almost eight months on from his arrest, his latest move of challenging whether Thames Valley Police acted lawfully over the searches of properties relating to his arrest in February gives a rare insight into how the ex-prince plans to tackle these serious allegations. It shows that he appears to be willing to fight against the humiliation of being arrested at home on his 66th birthday and detained for 12 hours while being quizzed by cops and having his former grand Royal Lodge home searched with a fine-tooth comb. Whether the move is well-advised, time will tell, as his legal claim is due to be heard at the High Court on Thursday afternoon. It is not known whether Mr Mountbatten-Windsor will attend the hearing. But one thing is for sure: the saga involving him and his arrest, which is a stain that will live long in the memory, is something that continues to come back and haunt King Charles and the rest of the Royal Family. And after some very turbulent times for the House of Windsor in recent months, if they thought the ‘Andrew problem’ of him being in the headlines was going to quietly go away, it seems they would be firmly mistaken.