A former chaplain to the late Queen Elizabeth II has described as a “tragedy” the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who has been detained on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Six unmarked police cars and around eight plainclothes officers were pictured arriving at the Sandringham royal estate on Thursday morning, where Mountbatten-Windsor, who turned 66 on Thursday, now lives.
Thames Valley Police had previously said it was looking into reports that Andrew shared confidential information with the late paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The former prince has not been charged and has always denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein. He has not responded to requests for comment since the latest release of documents.
"Thames Valley Police have opened an investigation into an offence of misconduct in public office," the force said in a statement on X.
"A man in his sixties from Norfolk has been arrested and remains in police custody. As per national guidance we will not name the arrested man."
Speaking to Premier, Dr Gavin Ashenden said the situation was a "disaster" for the royals.
In a statement following the arrest, King Charles III said the authorities have his "full and wholehearted support and co-operation".
"Let me state clearly: the law must take its course," he said. "As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter. Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all."
Responding to the King's statement, Ashenden said he'd have liked him to see him use the word "prayer".
"It's Lent...I would have liked him to use Christian language and not just sociological gloom, because he's the head of the church," he said. "He's a Christian monarch."
Asked what Queen Elizabeth would have thought of the arrest, Ashenden said it was "a disaster of the most unimaginable proportions".
"I think we'd have to first of all see her as a mother...and any mother seeing her son being arrested...would be heartbroken," he said.
Ashenden urged prayer for Andrew and King Charles, and suggested the royal family cannot survive without Christianity at its heart.
"I've said for some time that I thought the royal family was living on borrowed time, in the sense that it is a Christian organisation, a Christian idea," he said. "And the further King Charles got away from his explicit Christian roots into a form of relativistic multiculturalism, the less he could rely on the integrity of the idea of royalty, and on the support of Christians."
As a result, Ashenden said Charles now finds himself "in a more vulnerable place".
Mountbatten-Windsor was reported to police by the anti-monarchy campaign group Republic following the release of more than three million pages of documents relating to Epstein, who was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.
The files suggested Mountbatten-Windsor had in 2010 forwarded to Epstein reports about Vietnam, Singapore and other places he had visited on official trips.
Thames Valley Police and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have previously said they were in discussions about the case.
Police said allegations of misconduct in public office, which is a "Common Law" offence and therefore not covered by written statute legislation, involved "particular complexities".
