4 Ways Former Prince Andrew’s Legal Fight With the Police Could Play Out

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is fighting back against the police after officers searched properties linked to him earlier this year. The former Prince was arrested on February 19 over allegations of misconduct in public office and was questioned before being released while the investigation continued. Police searched Royal Lodge and another property on the Sandringham Estate that same day. Now, Mountbatten-Windsor’s lawyers are challenging the warrants that gave officers permission to carry out those searches. With the investigation still ongoing, the legal battle could play out in many ways, and not all of them are pretty.

The first possibility is that the High Court decides Thames Valley Police did nothing wrong when it searched Mountbatten-Windsor's properties. The searches of his home on the Sandringham Estate and Royal Lodge were carried out under warrants issued by a judge. The court will look at whether police had a good enough reason to carry out the searches and whether officers stayed within the limits of the warrants. Legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg told Sky News that the court will also consider whether police followed the proper process and could show that searching the properties was necessary for a “prompt and effective investigation.” If everything checks out, the disgraced former Prince’s legal challenge would fail, and police could continue their investigation using the material they collected during the searches.

Things get a little more complicated if the High Court decides the searches were unlawful. That would not necessarily mean that any material found during the search is automatically off the table. Thames Valley Police could argue that it should still be allowed to keep the material collected during the searches. Criminal lawyer Nick Vamos told the BBC that when police have lost challenges over search warrants because of a technical error, they have sometimes still been allowed to keep the material they found. He said, “The police can apply back to the Crown Court to retain the material if they have grounds to immediately seize it again.” So, even if the ex-Prince manages to prove that something went wrong with the searches, that would not necessarily mean the evidence simply disappears.

There is also a scenario where the court could side with Mountbatten-Windsor and decide that police should return material taken during the searches. It could even stop Thames Valley Police from relying on that material in any future case against him. But that would not be an automatic result. The former Duke’s legal team could also push for the evidence to be kept out of any future proceedings against him. Dai Davies, who previously headed Scotland Yard’s Royal Protection Command, told iPaper, “It’s a possible strategy that I suspect they may be trying to pursue.” In other words, a win in the High Court could potentially go beyond simply proving that the searches were unlawful. Mountbatten-Windsor could also try to make sure anything found during those searches cannot later be used against him.

If the High Court finds that the police searches were unlawful, the former Duke could potentially take things a step further and seek compensation for what happened. According to iPaper, John Hagan, a partner at DPP Law, said that the legal challenge could be “a precursor step to suing for substantial compensation.” He suggested the amount could be significant, potentially ranging from around £1,500 to “tens of thousands of pounds.” However, getting compensation would not necessarily make the police investigation disappear. Hagan said, “There are two separate things: you can be under suspicion of an offence, and it could be that the search warrant for your property is obtained unlawfully in some way.”