Thames Valley Police feared Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor would delay a February search of his home by arguing it belonged to King Charles and needed separate permission, according to High Court documents reported by the BBC and other outlets.
In its application for warrants to search Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate and Royal Lodge in Windsor, police said such a delay would "frustrate the nature and purpose of the search" and could risk the loss of evidence. Mountbatten-Windsor's lawyers said the claim was speculation and that police never contacted him or his legal team to ask for access. The documents were released after a media request to the court.
The papers also say officers were looking for paperwork, diaries and business records from his time as the UK's Special Representative for Trade and Investment, along with phones and computers. The investigation relates to his time as trade envoy and his links to Jeffrey Epstein.
The warrants no longer stand. The High Court quashed them on July 22 after police accepted the legal basis for them was wrong. Mr Justice Hilliard stressed that this does not end the investigation or make all of it unlawful. Police have since asked to keep the material gathered in the searches, which Mountbatten-Windsor opposes, with a private hearing expected in 2027.
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on Feb. 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office and released under investigation. He has not been charged and has denied wrongdoing. He was living at Wood Farm on the King's Sandringham Estate when police arrived in February.
Related article: King Won't Fund Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's Legal Action Against Police: What the Palace Said
