First royal arrest in centuries presents existential crisis for UK’s most powerful family

Until Thursday morning, it had been nearly four centuries since the arrest of a senior British royal.On his 66th birthday, the late Queen Elizabeth’s favourite son was detained on suspicion of misconduct in public office. By evening, the former prince was released from police custody. But the ongoing investigation will unpick years of lurid allegations about Andrew’s ties to the disgraced US financier Jeffrey Epstein that have heaped embarrassment on his brother, King Charles.The arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is a fresh nadir for “The Firm”, as the UK’s most powerful family tries to outrun a litany of setbacks and adapt to the 21st century.In a measure of how much the monarchy has changed, a statement from the king offering full cooperation with the law made no mention of those family ties. Only four years ago, the late queen had rushed to the former prince Andrew’s aid, helping him to settle a sex-abuse suit linking him to Epstein - in which he denied any wrongdoing - for an undisclosed sum.00:49Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office