UK judge to hear the opening salvo in ex-Prince Andrew’s bid to challenge searches at his residences

LONDON (AP) — A London judge will hold a hearing Thursday in former Prince Andrew’s challenge to searches at his residences by police investigating his links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Justice Nicholas Hilliard will hear a request from the department that carried out the searches to restrict access to court documents in the case. The hearing will begin behind closed doors, with any decision announced in open court.

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Thames Valley Police officers arrested the former prince, now known as Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, on Feb. 19, on suspicion of misconduct in public office and searched two of his homes. His lawyers are now asking the High Court to quash the warrants under which those searches were conducted.

If the court rules in Mountbatten-Windsor’s favor, it could prevent authorities from using evidence discovered during the searches in any prosecution of the former prince, attorney Mark Stephens said.

Stephens, of the Howard Kennedy firm in London, described the hearing as a preliminary skirmish in the broader legal battle.

“It’s the first step of Prince Andrew and his lawyers saying, ‘Actually, this is tainted evidence. It was obtained inappropriately,’’’ Stephens said. “Therefore it should be excluded from any criminal trial.”

King Charles III stripped Mountbatten-Windsor of his princely title last year as he sought to shield the rest of the royal family from the continuing fallout from his younger brother’s links to Epstein.

While Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, continues to receive a stipend from the king’s private funds, Buckingham Palace has made it clear that those funds may not be used to fund his effort to challenge the search warrants.

The police investigation initially focused on allegations that Mountbatten-Windsor shared sensitive information with Epstein when the former prince was a U.K. trade envoy, but police later said they could also consider other matters.

Police questioned Mountbatten-Windsor for 11 hours before releasing him under investigation, meaning he was neither charged nor exonerated.

It was the first time in nearly four centuries that a senior British royal was placed under arrest, underscoring how deference to the monarchy has eroded in recent years.

Thames Valley Police said Monday that its investigation was continuing and confirmed that the department was involved in legal proceedings about the search warrants. A department spokesperson declined further comment while those proceedings are underway.

The allegations against Mountbatten-Windsor came to light when the U.S. Justice Department released millions of pages of documents from its investigation into sex trafficking by Epstein and his connections to a network of wealthy, powerful men around the world.

Mountbatten-Windsor’s ties to Epstein have been a source of embarrassment to the royal family for more than a decade.

Lawmakers questioned the relationship as far back as 2011, when the then-prince was forced to give up his globetrotting role as the U.K.’s special trade envoy. Eight years later, he failed to explain his continuing ties to Epstein in a disastrous interview with the BBC, ending his career as a working member of the royal family.