From Queen's favourite son to 'treated like a common criminal': Inside Andrew's spectacular fall from grace

When Prince Andrew Albert Christian Edward Mountbatten-Windsor was born on February 19, 1960, it marked the first time a sitting British monarch had given birth since 1857.

As such, his arrival was met with celebrations across Britain, with crowds gathering at Buckingham Palace to see the formal announcement and a 41-gun royal salute taking place to commemorate the momentous occasion.

But no one would have imagined, as the gunfire rang out across London's Hyde Park, that he would one day be part of the most spectacular fall from grace in royal history.

Andrew was stripped of his "style, titles and honours" by his brother, The King, last October and evicted from his home, Royal Lodge, before being arrested last week on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Early life

As the son of Queen Elizabeth II and her husband, the Duke of Edinburgh, Andrew grew up in palaces, surrounded by wealth and given all of the privileges of his position.

At birth, he was second in line to the throne, behind his older brother, Charles, with male-preference primogeniture dictating his older sister, Princess Anne, was pushed down the line of succession.

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From a young age, the then-Prince Andrew had a reputation for being entitled and taking full advantage of his position in the royal family.

Despite being raised by nannies and taught by a governess before he went off to school, he was long recognised as the favourite child of the late Queen, who later welcomed her fourth child, Prince Edward.

At 13, Andrew was packed off to the tough Scottish boarding school Gordonstoun, which his father and older brother also famously attended.

In his biography, Entitled: The Rise and Fall of the House of York, author Andrew Lownie spoke to former classmates of Andrew, who described him as a "very slimy so-and-so", "arrogant" and "a bully".

One student claimed he was "so full of himself" he would often say in reference to his royal status, "You do know who I am?".

Tina Brown, the author of The Palace Papers, said fellow students described him as "big-headed" with a "penchant for off-colour jokes, at which he laughed inordinately". She claimed this earned him the nickname 'the Sniggerer'.

After leaving school, he joined the Royal Navy in 1979. He went on to become a helicopter pilot and even served in the Falklands war.

He later became a career officer and rose through the ranks to lieutenant and commander before finishing his naval career in 2001.

In later years, he was given honorary titles including captain, rear admiral and vice admiral.

'Playboy prince'

By the late '80s, the British press had nicknamed the young Prince 'Randy Andy', and was seen as somewhat of a 'playboy prince'.

In 1981, he met Koo Stark at his 21 birthday party, which was held at Windsor Castle three months after his actual birthday because of his naval duties.

He was instantly smitten with the US born actress and model, who was four years his senior, and they embarked on a love affair they managed to keep secret from the public until they set off on holiday together to Mustique in October 1982. 

The press caught wind of the relationship and soon linked her to an erotic film she once made, dubbing her a 'soft porn actress'.

From that point, the relationship was doomed, even though Andrew's family and even the Queen liked her.

The two broke up in 1983, but remained close, with Andrew even serving as godfather to her daughter.

Marriage and new titles

Two years after the relationship ended, Andrew began dating Sarah Ferguson. They were acquaintances since childhood through Ronald Ferguson's role as longtime polo manager for the Duke of Edinburgh and later King Charles.

It was reportedly Diana, Princess of Wales, who played matchmaker, arranging for them to meet at a party at Windsor Castle during Royal Ascot in June 1985. 

Following a whirlwind courtship, they got engaged eight months later on his 26th birthday and married just four months after that on July 23, 1986, at Westminster Abbey.

The Queen marked his wedding by bestowing a number of new titles on Andrew, including his most well known, Duke of York, and gifted them a brand new 30-room home she had built called for them called Sunninghill Park, in Ascot, Berkshire. 

The couple had two children in quick succession, Princess Beatrice in 1988, and Princess Eugenie, in 1990, but the marriage didn't last.

They announced their separation in March 1992 and divorced four years later, but continued to live together, first at Sunninghill Park, and later at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.

Trade role and 'Airmiles Andy'

After leaving the navy, Andrew was appointed a Special Representative for International Trade and Investment – a role he held for a decade.

He was tasked with promoting British trade overseas, and while he did not earn a salary, it enabled him to travel the world at the British government's expense.

But according to the BBC, Andrew's suitability for the role attracted criticism throughout his tenure, and his numerous taxpayer-funded trips earned him the nickname "Airmiles Andy".

In one year alone, he undertook 757 public engagements in the UK and overseas, 550 of which were related to his trade role, but many came under question, such as his trips to ski resorts, the world's best golf courses and exotic locations.

Then there were his numerous questionable alliances and business dealings, including the 2007 sale of Sunninghill Park for $6 million above asking price to Timor Kulibayev, the son-in-law of the President of Kazakhstan.

Lownie told The Times in 2025 Andrew's "lucrative connections in Central Asia and the Middle East" during his tenure still warranted investigation but his attempts had been blocked by the UK government.

Andrew left the post after a decade following scrutiny of his expenses and associations with controversial figures.

Allegations emerged in 2025 that Andrew engaged sex workers while on some of the government-funded trips, while in 2026 the BBC quoted former civil servants who said the government had foot the bill for charges such as massages.

Jeffrey Epstein

Andrew had a close relationship with US investment banker and financier Jeffrey Epstein, whom he met through Epstein's girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell.

A photograph that came to light during Maxwell's 2021 sex trafficking trial placed her and Epstein at the late queen's Balmoral estate in Scotland in 1999.

The trio were also guests at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago club in Florida in 2000 and, later that same year, Epstein and Maxwell attended a shooting weekend at the royal family's private Sandringham estate, which coincided with Maxwell's birthday.

Epstein and Maxwell were also invited to Princess Beatrice's 18th birthday party, which took place at Windsor Castle in 2006.

A photo of them smiling alongside another convicted sex offender, Harvey Weinstein, was first published by The Sun in December 2019.

It was thought to have been taken at the party, but the BBC reported in 2025 the photo was taken earlier that night in the garden of Royal Lodge.

Eight days after the party, Epstein was arrested by police in Florida.

He later pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting prostitution and soliciting prostitution from someone under 18, and was sentenced to 18 months in jail but was released on probation after 13 months.

Soon after his release, Epstein and Andrew were pictured on a stroll in New York in 2010 when Andrew was staying at Epstein's home.

The photos were published in February 2011 by tabloid News of the World under the headline, "Prince Andy & the Paedo".

Epstein was arrested again on federal sex trafficking charges in July 2019, but was found dead in his New York cell a month later, with his death ruled a suicide.

Virginia Giuffre

During a 2015 lawsuit against Jeffrey Epstein in Florida, US woman Virginia Giuffre alleged she was trafficked to Prince Andrew when she was 17 and was subsequently sexually abused by him.

Buckingham Palace denied the allegations but they continued to follow Andrew for the next decade.

In November 2019, the BBC aired an infamous interview on its Newsnight program with Andrew, in which he was grilled about Giuffre's allegations and his relationship with Epstein – including why he continued to associate with him after he was charged and found guilty of sex offences.

He told Newsnight he did not remember meeting Ms Giuffre "at all" and that they "never had any sort of sexual contact".

He also claimed a photo of Andrew with his arm around Giuffre's waist, and a smiling Maxwell in the background, was fake.

Asked in the same interview why he invited Epstein to his daughter's 18th birthday party, which occurred two months after an arrest warrant was issued, Andrew said he "wasn't aware until the media picked up on it" and Epstein "never said anything about it".

He also addressed his ongoing friendship with Epstein – including his 2010 visit to New York – which he said was to break off the friendship.

However, emails and Christmas cards later released in the so-called Epstein Files showed they remained in touch long after.

In 2022, he agreed to a large civil settlement payout to Giuffre, believed to be more than $20 million, after she accused him of "sexual assault and battery".

The settlement, reportedly payrolled mainly by his the late Queen, meant he avoided testifying in a US court.

Andrew's downfall

Andrew's downfall began within days of the Newsnight interview being aired, with the announcement he would step back from public duties.

At the same time, he said he would no longer use the styling His Royal Highness (HRH) officially, but would continue to do so in private.

He also gave up his military affiliations and royal patronages.

But his links with Epstein continued to follow him and intensified following Giuffre's death by suicide in April 2025 and the release of her posthumous memoir, Nobody's Girl.

In October 2025, it was announced Andrew would voluntarily relinquish his titles, including Duke of York.

Then just two weeks later, Buckingham Palace announced on October 31 that King Charles had initiated a formal process to remove the "style, titles and honours of Prince Andrew", who would from then on be known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

A hyphen was later added to his name.

A formal notice was also served to surrender the lease on his home of 20 years, Royal Lodge, with Andrew to move to "private accommodation" on the King's own Sandringham estate.

"These censures are deemed necessary, notwithstanding the fact he continues to deny the allegations against him," the statement said.

"Their Majesties wish to make clear that their thoughts and utmost sympathies have been, and will remain with, the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse."

A final humiliation came the next day when Andrew's name and bio were removed from the royal family's official website.

Any mention of Queen Elizabeth II's under the heading "Royal Family Members" was erased.

Ailsa Anderson, who was press secretary to the late Queen from 2001 to 2013, told The Daily Mail that following Buckingham Palace's announcement and move, Andrew's "humiliation is complete".

There was more bad news for Andrew when UK Defence Secretary John Healey told the BBC that moves were under way to strip Andrew of his last remaining honorary military rank, that of honorary vice admiral.

In the days, weeks and months that followed, there were more sordid details, with fears of more to come, and the threat of possible legal action against Andrew.

Epstein files and arrest

First came the release of the so-called 'Epstein files' by the US government in January, 2026, in which Andrew featured prominently.

The files included several photos of Andrew kneeling above a woman, who was lying on the ground. Other photos showed him with unidentified children.

Emails from Andrew and Christmas cards he sent Epstein also showed the two remained in touch longer than he claimed.

Other emails allegedly showed him sharing official British trade documents with Epstein.

In February 2026, UK police confirmed they were assessing the information prompting the King to release a statement through the palace saying he would support the police investigation.

Andrew finally moved out of Royal Lodge that month and set up a temporary home at Wood Farm, on the King's private Sandringham Estate in Norfolk.

It was there he was reportedly woken at 8am on February 19, 2026 – his 66th birthday – by police who arrived by the carload and placed Andrew under arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

He was taken to a local police station where he was held for 11 hours before being released without charge.

Andrew was reportedly treated like any other 'common criminal' and was subjected to DNA swabs, fingerprinting and had a mugshot taken, according to The Sun.

An image of him being driven away in the back of a car afterwards was later beamed around the world.

That same day, Buckingham Palace released a statement from King Charles promising "our full and wholehearted support and co-operation" with the investigation.

"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," he said.

In the week since his arrest, there have been more bombshell claims and even a growing movement to remove Andrew from the British royal family's line of succession, where he remains eighth in line to the throne.

Such a move would involve an Act of Parliament, followed by the consent of the heads of the 14 Commonwealth realms, of which Australia is one.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reportedly written to his British counterpart Keir Starmer to say Australia would support such a move.

While it is not yet known what the future holds for this son of a former Queen and brother of a King, his final years will be spent not as a prince, but as a commoner.

In fact, with multiple police probes now under way, searches continuing of his current and former homes, and England's chief prosecutor warning that nobody is "above the law", living a life in exile in Sandringham may be the best outcome he can hope for.

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