The royal mugshot: How Andrew was 'treated like a common criminal' after his arrest as he was photographed, fingerprinted and had DNA swabs taken during 12 hours in custody
Arrested former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor faced having a mugshot and his fingerprints taken during 12 hours of police questioning.
The former Duke of York would have been treated like a 'common criminal' as he was taken into custody on Thursday before being released last night, experts say.
Photographs, fingerprints and DNA swabs would likely have been taken, according to Government guidance - while the ex-prince would be offered a cup of tea and one phone call.
A Government website page explaining arrest procedures states: 'The police have the right to: take photographs of you; take fingerprints; take a DNA sample, such as from a mouth swab or head hair root; swab the skin surface of your hands and arms. They do not need your permission to do this.'
Andrew spent the majority of his 66th birthday holed up in police custody.
Retired Met Police sergeant Graham Wettone, author of How To Be A Police Officer, described the likely conditions during Andrew's stay, telling the Daily Mail: 'It'll be no bigger than a box-room in a three-bed semi.
'There's no facility for any preferential treatment in any custody suite I've ever been in. You can't have an upgraded room, you can't get upgraded meals - you get what's there. Microwaved.'
Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office shortly after 8am when police descended on Wood Farm in Sandringham, Norfolk, where he has been living for the past fortnight.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor leaves Aylsham Police Station after he was released from custody on Thursday
He has since been released from custody, but his ordeal would have begun with being driven to an unspecified location for questioning.
First, he would have been brought before the custody sergeant at the police station.
The arresting officer would have explained the reason for arrest - on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Andrew would have heard the officer state the time of arrest and the location.
'Do you understand why you have been arrested?', Andrew will have been asked.
He will then have been read his rights - the right to a solicitor and free legal advice, and to have somebody informed of his arrest. This is often a next-of-kin.
Andrew will have been entitled to speak with the duty solicitor, if he was unable to summon his own counsel.
Then he would have been searched and given a medical and welfare assessment.
The former Duke of York looked shellshocked after spending 11 hours in police custody
Andrew will have been asked if he takes medication, has any physical problems, and asked a series of questions by the custody officer about whether he has any mental health issues.
He will have also been 'thoroughly' searched, although he would unlikely have been strip searched due to the nature of the offence he was arrested on suspicion of.
He would have likely had any belts, ties and shoe laces confiscated, for his own protection and that of police staff.
Mr Wettone said: 'Even if they pose no risk, I took the shoelaces off every single person in custody when I was a custody officer.'
'If you haven't met them before, they are in the box of being an unknown risk.
'The only risk you can assess is because of their answers to you, which might not be true.'
While some suspects are ordered to take off their clothes and change into a paper suit, Mr Wettone said Andrew would not likely have been required to do so because forensic evidence would not have been needed in this case.
The cell itself would have been bare, with Mr Wettone saying: 'He's got a toilet and a mattress on the bed. There's nothing in there at all.
Vehicles are seen arriving at Royal Lodge at Windsor Castle, Berkshire, on Friday morning
An aerial view of police visiting Royal Lodge in Windsor, Berkshire, on Friday 20 February 2026
Investigations are continuing at Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's former home estate
Ex-Duke of York Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor lived at Windsor before recently moving to Sandringham in Norfolk
Police vehicles are seen at Royal Lodge in Windsor on the morning of Friday 20 February 2026
Police have also attended Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk
The bed is actually a bench, about knee high, with a vinyl-covered mattress about three inches thick. He will also have been given a blue blanket to keep warm.
The toilet will be obscured by a half-height wall offering only a modicum of privacy - although modern custody suites have CCTV in them anyway.
Then the heavy door will have slammed shut behind him, with Mr Wettone saying: 'They make a huge, loud bang when they go across.
'It's a lonely experience. It's quite levelling, because the door slams and you're in there on your own, four walls to look at. There's no entertainment or anything.
'You haven't got your phone with you. You've normally got nothing to read apart from the Codes of Practice if you want something to read.
'The cells are bare, nothing at all. You are sitting there in just your clothes.'
Andrew's elder brother King Charles has said 'the law must take its course' after expressing his 'deepest concern' over Thursday's arrest.
Charles revealed the police would have his 'wholehearted support and co-operation' after his younger brother was held on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (pictured at St George's Chapel in Windsor on April 20 2025) was arrested on his 66th birthday before later being released
King Charles said 'the law must take its course' and said the royals would continue with royal duties. His wife Queen Camilla was at an event in London on Thursday
The unprecedented statement from the King after his brother's arrest where he said he supported the police's action and he and the Royal Family would co-operate fully
The Prince and Princess of Wales also support the King’s unprecedented statement following the arrest of William's uncle Andrew at Sandringham on Thursday.
The King said in a statement released by Buckingham Palace at midday: 'I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office.
'What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation.
'Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.
'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'.
Multiple sources claim Buckingham Palace and the King were not informed in advance of the operation by detectives.
Thames Valley Police arrested Andrew, the eighth in line to the British throne, on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Thursday morning.
Detectives have been probing his conduct as a trade envoy for the UK after emails in the Epstein Files suggested he shared confidential information with his paedophile friend including reports of his official visits and potential investment opportunities.
The Prince (left) and Princess of Wales (right) support the statement made by King Charles following the arrest of the monarch's brother Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor (centre)
King Charles was seen on the front row at London Fashion Week on Thursday next to Stella McCartney
Thames Valley Police previously said the force was reviewing allegations that a woman was trafficked to the UK by Jeffrey Epstein to have a sexual encounter with Andrew, and claims he shared sensitive information with the paedophile while serving as the UK's trade envoy.
Emails released by the US Department of Justice appeared to show the former duke sharing reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore.
The Queen's second son may have passed sensitive information to Epstein in his role as a UK trade envoy.
There are also claims he may have smuggled a woman into Buckingham Palace who may have been trafficked into Britain on Epstein's 'Lolita Express' jet.
Andrew denies any wrongdoing.
A number of police forces are understood to be looking into allegations around trafficking that have surfaced in the huge number or documents relating to Jeffrey Epstein in the UK.
The Metropolitan Police said this week it was carrying out 'initial inquiries' into allegations relating to close protection officers formerly assigned to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
In a statement, the Met said it had 'not identified any wrongdoing' but 'initial enquiries into these specific allegations have begun'.
Andrew features a number of times in the Epstein files, including images apparently showing him crouching over an unidentified woman in what appears to be Epstein's New York mansion
Police officers walk through the Bishops Gate entrance leading to Royal Lodge, a 30-room property and former residence to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor
Officers have been attending the ex-Duke of York's former home in Windsor, Berkshire
Inquiries are continuing following Andrew's arrest on Thursday morning at Sandringham
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has recently been exiled to a remote cottage, Wood Farm, on the edges of the Sandringham estate.
Wood Farm, the property where his father the Duke of Edinburgh spent much of his final years, is hidden from public view about 300 yards down a private driveway in Wolferton on the edge of the Norfolk estate.
He has been accompanied by two police officers assigned to protect Andrew.
The King's younger brother was pictured in the Epstein files kneeling over a young women.
He is also facing questions over emails suggesting he shared private information from his role as a UK trade envoy with the billionaire financier.
The royal is also being urged to give evidence to the US congressional investigation into Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.
The ex-Duke's chief accuser Virginia Giuffre, who died by suicide last year, claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew on three occasions, including on Little St James in the early 2000s - allegations he has always denied.
Multiple survivors have also alleged they were trafficked to and abused on the island which Epstein purchased in the US Virgin Islands in 1998.
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