Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was born a prince, son of Queen Elizabeth II, in 1960.
He was considered by some to be the Queen's favorite son, a view that was strengthened after he returned from the Falklands War in the 1980s as a hero.
According to his own account, he came into contact with Jeffrey Epstein - then known as an American financier - in the 1990s.
The friendship became controversial because it continued after 2008, despite Epstein being convicted of sex crimes.
Refuted by email
In 2010, shortly after Epstein was released from a short prison sentence, the then-prince and Epstein were photographed taking a walk in Central Park in New York.
Mountbatten-Windsor later claimed that they met to end their friendship - but emails published between the two men show that they remained in contact long after that.
In 2014, trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre accused the prince of raping her in the early 2000s, when Giuffre was 17 years old.
When Epstein was arrested again in the US in 2019, his connections to the British royal family were re-established.
In November, just months after Epstein died in custody, Andrew agreed to be interviewed by the BBC. His television appearance was met with massive criticism and was not seen as helping to soften the public's view of the now disgraced prince.
The following year, he left his public roles within the royal family, but he retained his many titles and awards.
In 2022, Giuffre and Andrew reached a settlement over the sexual assault allegations. However, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied wrongdoing.
In the same year, he was stripped of the right to use the title "His Royal Highness".
Arrested on his birthday
In October 2025, Andrew will renounce the title of Duke of York.
About two weeks later, King Charles announced that a formal process had been initiated, with the approval of both Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Prince William, to also strip Andrew of his princely title.
The then 65-year-old Andrew was moved from the Royal Lodge on the royal family's estate in Windsor to a residence at the family's country estate of Sandringham in Norfolk.
There he was arrested on February 19, 2026 - on his 66th birthday - according to the BBC on suspicion of misconduct in public office. According to the BBC, it is linked to documents from 2001-2011, when Andrew was a British trade envoy, which are said to have ended up in Epstein's hands.
