Epstein scandal British connections

First royal arrest in 379 years: “Unprecedented”

The arrest of the ex-prince is unprecedented in British royal history, says Craig Prescott, a lecturer at the University of London, to the BBC.

“This is the most spectacular case from the top of a member of the royal family in modern times,” he says.

Not since 1647 has a royal arrest taken place, when King Charles I was charged with treason. Since then, there have been only minor incidents with the justice system. The most serious was in 2002, when Princess Anne was fined £500 after her bull terrier bit two children, a crime she admitted to.

In 2019, the late Prince Philip was questioned by police after driving without a seatbelt.

Andrew's adviser made secret deal with China – helped by ex-prince

Former Prince Andrew is suspected of sharing classified information with notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct. Now The Telegraph can reveal that Andrew's adviser David Stern made a secret business deal with the Chinese state in 2013, a deal that may have been concluded with the help of Andrew. Stern was also a close confidant of Epstein at the time.

The business deal was made with Chinese pharmaceutical companies and the Chinese Ministry of Labor and involved building a dozen data centers in the country.

Emails obtained by the newspaper suggest that Stern and Epstein planned to use the contacts the former prince had built up during his time as Britain's international trade representative between 2001 and 2011 to promote their business in China.

According to reports, Andrew agreed to be part of the scheme in 2010 when he was still a trade representative.

Image of shocked ex-prince already iconic – photographer took a chance in the dark

The image of a shaken ex-prince Andrew in the backseat of his Range Rover is already a classic and fills all the world's media. The image was taken by Reuters photographer Phil Noble, who drove six hours from Manchester to Norfolk after Andrew's arrest.

Andrew could have been taken to 20 different police stations in the area, but Phil Noble was told he had been taken to the town of Aylsham. After six or seven hours outside the police station, hope began to wane – perhaps they had made a mistake after all? – and Noble packed up and left.

A few minutes later, Reuters colleague Marissa Davison, who had not yet left, called to say that the ex-prince's team had arrived. The photographer returned at a fast pace and was met by two cars leaving at high speed. At random, he pointed his camera at the other car and took six pictures into the darkness. Two showed police officers, two showed only air, one was out of focus – and the last showed a shocked Andrew.

– More luck than skill, says Noble.

BBC court reporter Sean Coughlan writes that the iconic picture will be a central part of how the case will be remembered. “It is not a particularly flattering sight,” he writes. 

Information: Wants to change the order of succession

Great Britain wants to change the rules for the country's order of succession, according to information to British media.

This is to be able to remove former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the list, Sky News reports.

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is currently number eight in the line of succession. Before him are Prince William and William's three children and Prince Harry and Harry's two children.

The decision to change the legislation for the royal succession would only become relevant after the ongoing police investigation into the former prince has been concluded, according to the information.

On Thursday, the former prince was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.