Ex-Prince Andrew Gets a Legal Lifeline Over Police Raids

WPA Pool / Getty Images Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been handed a legal boost after winning a court battle over police searches of his two homes.

The disgraced former prince was arrested on his 66th birthday in February after it was alleged he shared sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein while he was a U.K. trade envoy.

But he challenged Thames Valley Police’s search warrants for Wood Farm in Sandringham and his former home of Royal Lodge in Windsor.

And Andrew was granted a lifeline on Thursday when a judge in London’s High Court said the searches were unlawful.

It means that police will now have to ask the court to let them retain any of Andrew’s seized items–or risk handing them back to him.

The criminal investigation into Andrew remains ongoing.

The former prince has not been charged after his Feb.

19 arrest.

A judge at the Old Bailey in London issued the warrants on Feb.

18.

Andrew did not attend the hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on Thursday, where Mr.

Justice Hilliard said an “agreement was reached” between Andrew and the police that “the search warrants were unlawful.” But he added that this “does not bring an investigation to an end, or mean that the whole of the investigation was unlawful.” A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police later said the decision “is not a judgment on our ongoing investigation.” “Legal proceedings are currently ongoing to decide how material seized during the searches will be managed and whether we can lawfully retain it in support of our ongoing investigation,” they added.

Late last year, King Charles stripped his brother of his right to be a prince, as well as his Duke of York title, over his links to Epstein.

Thursday’s decision means Thames Valley Police will have to wait until next year to know whether they can keep the items they seized.