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One World with Zain Asher
Former Prince Arrested on Suspicion of Misconduct in Public Office; Police in UK Arrest Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor; Alleged Misconduct Likely Related to his Time as UK Trade Envoy; Attorney for Epstein Victim: Arrest May "Restore Faith for those who Believed Justice was Unreachable"; Trump Convenes First "Board of Peace" Meeting; Working Royals Maintain Schedules after Arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired February 19, 2026 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ZAIN ASHER, CNN HOST, ONE WORLD: All right, coming to you live from New York. I'm Zain Asher. Bianna Golodryga is off today. You are watching "One
World". We begin with an extraordinary moment for the British Monarchy. For the first time in more than 350 years, a senior member of the British Royal
Family is under arrest.
Police arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, on suspicion of misconduct in public office. They haven't said
specifically what led them to the arrest yet, but the Former Prince spent a decade as Trade Envoy for the UK. And police had previously said they were
reviewing allegations that he shared sensitive information with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during that time.
In a statement, King Charles III said he learned with deepest concern of the arrest and stress the law must take its course. Mountbatten-Windsor has
previously denied all allegations of wrongdoing over his links to the disgraced financier. Today's arrest follows the U.S. government's release
of the latest cache of the Epstein files.
We begin our coverage with CNN's Nada Bashir joining us live now from London. And just talk to us really about King Charles' swift statement
here. We're learning that he didn't necessarily know any sort of prior information. He wasn't given a heads up about this arrest.
He released a statement very, very quickly, essentially saying that he sided with the police, he supported a full and fair investigation. What
more do we know just in terms of what King Charles' reaction has been here?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this isn't the first time we've heard Zain from King Charles, with regards to the potential for Andrew
Mountbatten-Windsor to be arrested or to have consultations with the police. There had been an earlier statement from Buckingham Palace, some
ago, King Charles saying in that statement that if it did come to the stage where police did seek information, that the Palace would cooperate.
And clearly, we are hearing that same sentiment today from King Charles in that as you mentioned, very swift statement released upon the arrest of his
younger brother, Former Prince Andrew. As he mentioned in that statement, he says, 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.
And there has been some indication, a sense, perhaps, that the Palace has attempted to distance itself from the scandal surrounding Andrew
Mountbatten-Windsor. Of course, he was stripped of his Royal title. He was, of course, evicted, essentially, from the Royal Lodge his residence of 20
years on the Windsor Estate. He now has resided in private residence on the King Sandringham Estate.
And clearly this statement has once again reiterated the Palace's position that it stands on the side of the full course of the law being carried out.
And also, of course, expressing its condolences previously with the victims of the Epstein scandal.
Now it's important to underscore, of course, that Thames Valley Police have not essentially given any reason as to what led to this arrest. We know
that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, according to police, has been arrested on suspicion of misconduct while in public office. And it's understood that
this is all centered around his time as Trade Envoy for the UK between 2001 and 2011.
But they have cautioned around speculation. No clear details have been given at this stage. And it's understood that Andrew Mountbatten-Wednesday
could be held for questioning for 24 hours, although an extension might be sought by police officials if the crimes are deemed serious, and that could
lead up to 96 hours.
So, we'll be waiting to see what developments come out of this investigation. We have seen video showing police officers arriving at the
Sandringham Estate this morning, around 08:00 a.m. unmarked police cars to arrest Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. It's understood that residents is now
being searched.
It's also understood that police officers are also carrying out investigations and searching around his former residence on the Windsor
Estate at Royal Lodge. We have seen police officers there on those grounds as well. And this arrest will allow police officials to carry out a more
fuller scale investigation, including looking at private public records as part of this investigation.
[11:05:00]
Of course, what we had previously learned, separate from this official announcement from the police, but from a release of documents by the U.S.
Department of Justice, was suggestion that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, during his time as Trade Envoy, had potentially given and disclosed
sensitive information regarding potential investments to Jeffrey Epstein, of course, the convicted sex offender.
So, there is speculation, of course, that this is centered around those allegations released in the DOJ release of files surrounding the Epstein
case. We've also heard from the Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has said that he has also shared information with the Metropolitan Police as
part of this investigation prior to Andrew Mountbatten's arrest.
So clearly, there are a lot of details, a lot of different elements and strands to this case, this investigation into Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
And of course, this all comes following revelation surrounding the Epstein scandal, but at this stage, the details connecting these various strands
haven't been officially confirmed by police officials.
ASHER: Right, Nada Bashir live for us there. Thank you so much. I want to go straight now to our Royal Correspondent, Max Foster live for us at
Buckingham Palace. So Max, I just want to pull up some pictures that we saw of King Charles attending London Fashion Week. He's there sitting in one of
the front rows at a or here he is walking in.
But earlier, we saw pictures of him sitting in one of the front rows at a London Fashion Show. I mean, obviously for the British Royal Family, this
is clearly a scandal that simply will not go away. However, for King Charles, he's sort of trying to continue and carry out his public duties as
normal, Max.
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, yeah. So, if this is another family, you would think it was quite odd that they just went along for a
fashion show and carried on as normal. But this is the British Monarchy. It's a family firm, and what they're trying to do, above all else at this
time, is protect the monarchy and allow themselves to keep working.
So, the message, if there is one, is, keep calm and carry on. We had this engagement in the diary. We're going to carry on with it. But more broadly
is that they're desperately trying to separate themselves from the Prince Andrew, as he was affair, and show that the monarchy still has a purpose.
The question arises, you know, we're now talking about that Fashion Week event, which was a celebration of British Fashion and of youth fashion,
and, you know, encouraging students to go into fashion. But we're not talking about that. We're talking about Andrew, and that is the challenge
that the monarchy now faces.
It's literally struggling to actually function in a normal way, which is to highlight causes, because this whole affair is overshadowing everything
they do. And it makes them -- it makes them vulnerable frankly, if they can't actually do their job, then people will start questioning what the
monarchy is there for.
ASHER: And just in terms of the timing of this arrest, I mean, it comes after an anti-monarchy group, Republic, who is sort of focused on the
dissolution of the British Monarchy, essentially submitted a criminal report. Just walk us through what we know about this particular group and
what was in that report, if we have any more details on that?
FOSTER: So, Republic is, you know, it's a long running campaign. You know, Republicanism isn't a big movement in the UK traditionally, like it is in
Australia or Jamaica, for example. But you know, the Republic campaign is about accountability. So, one of their main issues is that it's not a
transparent system. It's a publicly funded system, the monarchy, but it's not transparent.
So, they're constantly asking for more information about how much they spend, for example. The other issue is that they just, you know, they're
too expensive for what they do, and they will be much cheaper to have a presidency. So, they are the ones that actually put in the complaint to the
police, which started this investigation.
So, they are the ones that are very much promoting it as well, in terms of the media. And they've got to, you know, they're getting support with that,
because everyone, frankly, wants accountability for all the public figures. I think the challenge for Republican the monarchy is whether or not there
is going to be a separation between the monarchy and Andrew.
If Andrew is seen as an isolated case, then it won't necessarily affect the rest of the monarchy. But it's difficult, because what we're going to see
now is, as part of this investigation, the police are going to have access to Andrew's computers, his communications, but also his office was in
Buckingham Palace.
So, they'll get into Buckingham Palace, and it could expose that someone in the Palace knew something about this, and that suddenly draws in the wider
monarchy into what was a Prince Andrew only issue.
ASHER: All right, Max Foster, live for us there. Thank you so much. We'll be right back with more on this breaking news out of the UK and of course,
the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.
[11:10:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ASHER: All right, we are following major breaking news this hour, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III, has been
arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public. Earlier, officers were seen arriving at his home at Sandringham, at the King's private state in
Norfolk.
Police have not specifically said what led them to this arrest, exactly, but it may be related to Mountbatten-Windsor's former role as UK Trade
Envoy. Police had previously said they were reviewing allegations that he shared sensitive information with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Former Prince has previously denied any wrongdoing in his dealings with Epstein. This is, of course, an extraordinary moment for British Monarchy.
In a statement, King Charles III says, quote, I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of
misconduct in public office.
What now follows is a full and fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate
authorities. In this as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation. Let me state clearly the law must
take its course. As this process continues it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter.
Meanwhile, my family and I will continue our duty and service to you all. And we are hearing from the family of Epstein victim Virginia Roberts
Giuffre, Former Prince Andrew was accused of sexually assaulting Giuffre when she was a teenager, something that he has, of course, vehemently
continue to deny her family says, at last today, our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law, not even royalty.
On behalf of our sister Virginia Roberts Giuffre, we extend our gratitude to UK's Thames Valley Police for their investigation and arrest of Andrew
Mountbatten-Windsor. He was never a Prince for survivors everywhere; Virginia did this for you.
I want to bring in CNN Royal Historian Kate Williams. So, Kate, just to be clear on this very important distinction, Former Prince Andrew has faced
allegations of sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre, specifically when she was a teenager. Of course, as I mentioned, he denied those allegations.
But this is about something completely different. It's about suspicion of misconduct in public office. Just walk us through specifically what we
understand Former Prince Andrew has been accused of here.
[11:15:00]
KATE WILLIAMS, CNN ROYAL HISTORIAN: Yes, you're exactly right. I have seen quite a lot of conversation online Zain, but why isn't this about the
accusations of the women, the suffering of the women? It is something completely different. This is an allegation of misconduct in public office.
It refers to his time of Trade Envoy.
Now, Trade Envoy was a job that was pretty much created for Andrew. It was him going all over the world. And the ostensible reason was that he was
creating deals, business deals, helping UK business operate within the world. And he certainly used a lot of UK, government expenses and airplanes
doing that.
And the argument is that because of this position he had, he had very, very sensitive privilege information, information that you or I would never know
about what company was about to be sold, companies about to do takeovers, big deals coming. And this would be very valuable if it was passed on to
someone like Jeffrey Epstein, who knew all these wealthy people.
And really people would know whether to sell their shares or buy more shares. This is insider dealing, which is a crime under British law, a
crime under most laws across the world. And that really is very serious. That's what Prince Andrew, we think, has been accused of. We all we know is
misconduct in public office.
Of course, the police aren't even naming the 66-year-old man they took into custody today, but we all know who it is. And the fact is that these about
the emails that we've seen in the Epstein troves that have been released, which made this clear that this had been revealed.
So certainly, for the police, there is a paper trail where we think there's a paper trail of emails being sent to Jeffrey Epstein saying, did you know
about X or Y company? And that is a criminal offense. And if Andrew is arrested, that Andrew -- has been arrested being questioned. He's obviously
probably been questioned as we speak.
I mean, this is unprecedented for the Royal Family. I'm a Royal Historian. I studied Royals throughout the ages, and this is the first arrest since
the mid-17th century, for over 350 years. And Royals have got away with all kinds of crimes in the past, and it's been brushed under the carpet.
Not now, Andrew has been arrested. So, whether he's charged or not, even this is unprecedented and extraordinary, and it's the Royal Family in
crisis.
ASHER: I mean, so yeah, to your point, you're a Royal Historian. So, if you go all the way back several 100 years, even sort of back beyond the
medieval period, and even earlier than that, there has been this perception by the British public that the Royal Family was above the law because of
sovereign immunity.
The reality, especially in today's world, is so much more nuanced. And regardless of that, times are certainly very different now in terms of the
perception of the Royal Family, and compared to sort of several 100 years ago. Walk us through how things have really changed.
WILLIAMS: Things have changed. And nowadays the Royal Family, it is about that word you use, their perception. It's about perception and message. How
are the Royal Family perceived? They're not judged by, like the rest of us, by how much we sell or sales figures or metrics of productivity. They're
judged by how they appear and how they're thought of?
And that really is about public support. They rely on public support to do the job they do, and, you know, receive the large amount of money that they
do. And if public support fails, they are in real trouble. So, the lowest we've seen Royal Family reputation in the past was just after the death of
Diana in 1997.
Princess Diana and the Royal Family were perceived as unsympathetic. That was a crash in public opinion, and this is going to be very similar. I
think there's going to be a crash in public opinion, because even though Charles did that statement, which he very much made, a division between
himself and Andrew, didn't call him my brother.
Really, everyone knows that this is a family that Andrew had his office at Buckingham Palace. He was within the Royal household. And this could drag
in a lot of you know, all the wider family. And you know, over the years, the Royal Family have brushed it up, you know, covered up.
There have been various arguments of all, you know, in the Victorian period, you know, the eldest son was caught up in a very bad divorce cake -
- divorce case, and it was all brushed under the under the carpet. In the medieval times, you know, people were actually, you know, basically
executed if you said anything against a Royal.
But now public opinion feels that they are here as public servants, and if they fail in this duty, like any public servant, they should be
investigated and they should lose their job.
ASHER: You know, in addition to the sort of famous, keep calm, carry on, the other sort of royal mantra that we're all used to by now is never
complain and never explain. And you know that mindset? I mean, obviously it's worked for the British Royal Family in the past, but obviously the
public have so many questions.
They're limited in terms of what they can say now, because Andrew is under arrest. But this idea of never, sort of having to explain, is that
methodology going to work for them this time? People have so many questions, as you point out as to what members of the Royal Family knew and
when they knew it?
[11:20:00]
WILLIAMS: The idea of never explain that is now of a bygone age. What we need now are royal explanations. And the Royals have buried their head in
the sand over this matter. Let's face it, over and over again, they've tried to draw the line between Andrew and Epstein.
We've had statements put out by Buckingham Palace saying Andrew didn't know anything about Epstein's lifestyle. Lifestyle was the word they used. And
he knew -- he was totally, you know, ignorant of this. We've had a payoff to Ms. Giuffre, Virginia Giuffre, who accused Andrew of sexually assaulting
her.
We've had, you know, Charles, last year, took away Andrew's title as Prince and evicted him from Royal Lodge in Windsor, moved him to Sandringham. And
I think the Royal Family always helped. This would draw hopes. This would draw a line, but actually, the scandal is too big for that.
They can't control it. This is really the beginning. It's not the end the arrest. It's the beginning. They can't control it. This Epstein scandal is
really absorbing and incorporating so many powerful people across the world, and it's a huge problem for the Royal Family.
They really are in crisis, strategic mode, because simply the fact is that Charles would like to say, we're going to focus on our duty and service,
but people are going to say, but this is your brother. You know, he was protected by the Palace. There was a 12 million payoff to Virginia Giuffre.
What did you know about that? So, it is going to be very difficult times for the Royals in the years to come and the months to come. And certainly,
I think everything depends on whether or not Andrew is charged? If Andrew is charged, and then, you know, potentially stands trial, potentially goes
to prison.
I mean, this is so unprecedented. I've never seen the like in my work as a historian, and it is going to be, you know, the biggest crisis the Royal
Family have ever seen, bigger, I would say, than the abdication of Edward VIII in 1936.
ASHER: All right. Kate Williams, live for us there. Thank you so much. We'll have much more on the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after a
short break, stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:25:00]
ASHER: All right, several questions are being raised in the hours after police arrested Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor on suspicion of misconduct in
public office. One key question exactly, how long can police hold him in custody? Initially, police do have about 24 hours before they need to
either charge him or release him.
It's possible to extend that time to as much as 96 hours with authorization from senior officers or a magistrate. Police have not yet confirmed what
exactly led them to this arrest, specifically in terms of allegations. Today's events mark yet another extraordinary moment in Andrew's years long
fall from grace in the wake of his controversial ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest is the latest development in a scandal that has been engulfing the highest levels of the British establishment. On
Wednesday, police said that they are assessing claims Jeffrey Epstein allegedly trafficked women on flights through London Stansted Airport.
CNN has contacted the UK Home Office for comment on this. Elsewhere Prime Minister Keir Starmer has faced calls to resign over his appointment of
Peter Mandelson as the UK Ambassador to the U.S., and that was despite Mandelson's links to Epstein.
Documents appear to show Mendelsohn leaked market sensitive data to Epstein following the 2008 financial crisis. Here's what British Prime Minister
Keir Starmer told BBC this morning, before news of Andrew's arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Should Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor testify?
KEIR STARMER, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Yes, anybody who has any information should testify. So, whether it's Andrew or anybody else, anybody who's got
relevant information should come forward to whatever the relevant body is. In this particular case, we're talking about Epstein.
But there are plenty of other cases, it is anybody who's got information relating to any aspect of violence against women and girls has, in my view,
a duty to come forward, whoever they are.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called on police to interview police to interview Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, you
said he should testify to Congress. Should he voluntarily come forward to UK Police?
STARMER: Well, I think that's a matter for the police. They will conduct their own investigations. But one of the core principles in our system is
that everybody is equal under the law, and nobody is above the law, and it is really important that that is applied across the board.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: For more on the unprecedented nature of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest and what it means for the UK establishment. Let's bring in Martin
Farr. He's a Senior Lecturer in Contemporary British History at Newcastle University. So, Martin, how surprised were you several hours ago, when you
learned of the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor?
MARTIN FARR, SENIOR LECTURER IN CONTEMPORARY BRITISH HISTORY, NEWCASTLE UNIVERSITY: Shocked more than surprised. I was -- I had been wondering how
long it would take for a step like this to take place? And I think what it required, obviously, was the revelations or the allegations about his role
as a trade envoy.
And curiously, when we last book about Mandelson. Mandelson, Lord Mandelson is being investigated for malfeasance in public office, for very similar,
very similar crime as Andrew Mountbatten-Winsor is being investigated, which is deemed, as I have up on screen here, that the misconduct in public
office relates to -- will -- the person has willfully misconducted themselves, and their conduct has fallen so far below acceptable standards
that it amounts to an abuse of public trust.
Now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had a role after he left the Royal Navy in 2001 for 10 years as Trade Envoy, which is an informal role that the
monarch granted before him, Duke of Kent. And then for Andrew, so to give him some sort of role, given that he was far from the line of succession
after his time in the armed forces.
And it's during that role that he's alleged, we think this -- these are the reasons for the arrest to have revealed information to others, including
Jeffrey Epstein.
ASHER: When it comes to Peter Mandelson, since you brought him up. So, there you and I talked about this, I think, just a couple of weeks ago,
that there were these emails that appear to so when it came to Peter Mandelson, specifically that while he was serving as UK Business Secretary
in 2009 to 2010 gave Epstein advance notice of a 500-billion-euro zone bailout.
Just in terms of that, if you are Peter Mandelson right now, and you see the arrest of Prince Andrew, Former Prince Andrew, you see that, and you
think, what that?
FARR: It's a matter of time. I mean, Mandelson has been interviewed by police. His homes have been searched we believe. What's different with
today's news is that Andrew isn't being questioned. He's been arrested.
[11:30:00]
Now, I'm not a lawyer, as one is obliged to say at such moments, but it does seem that there must be substantial body of evidence for them to go to
the point of arrest rather than merely questioning. And I think the expectation is that something not dissimilar to this will be affecting Lord
Mandelson.
And in both cases, as we said before, that most of the evidence that is -- that exists is yet in the public domain. We're still not sure what will be
released in the months to come, and how much more people will be implicated. That's why I think the Royal Family has acted as it has over
time.
And tried to manage the situation, and has sought to distinguish the individual from the institution, which was -- what was both significant in
the King's statement today and not mentioning Andrew as a brother, but merely as a person under investigation by the police.
So, it's an extremely delicate situation for the institution. I've done a scan of all of the major news websites and organizations around the world,
and every single one, despite the language, is covering this. It's leading with Andrew as a story. It doesn't look very good at all for the
institution or do for the country, given the importance the Royal Family the Monarchy has for UK's cultural diplomacy more widely.
ASHER: Yeah. So, you -- if you are king Charles, I mean, how, what is the best way to handle this? And obviously, King Charles came out almost
immediately and issued a statement, essentially just in terms of summarizing it, saying that he supported a full and fair investigation.
He did not refer to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor as his brother. They are. I'm just showing images of them on the screen right now at London Fashion
Week. This is King Charles at London Fashion Week. Obviously, the sort of focus is on just continuing to carry out public duties as normal.
But this is a family that has weathered so many crises over the years. You think about the death in 1997 of Princess Diana. You think about Prince
Harry, essentially stepping down along with his wife as senior members of the Royal Family. You think about the scandals involving Camilla and King
Charles himself, just walk us through what is different with this particular scandal and how it might shake the establishment differently?
FARR: I was at Camilla and Charles's wedding in 2005 for the BBC, and what was striking there was Camilla wasn't very popular at the time. And the way
in which the now-Queen was turned into a popular public figure, which partly came through the Royal Family Zone, imprimatur so Queen Elizabeth
II, allowing or making it clear that Camilla would be Queen in turn.
And the way in which the institution manages media, manages its exposure to the media is approachable. Is accessible. It's extremely adaptable. It does
generally overcome crises of this nature. Edward VIII was the most serious constitutionally in 1936 but with a much less intrusive media than was the
case then.
And the remarkable thing is that Edward VIII was another wrong, and one could say putting it formally and by chance, his brother becomes King, and
his brother was devoted to duty, and his daughter is the second devoted to duty. And so, they've been lucky in the sense that those who have become
the Head of State in the last century, with one exception, have all been very dutiful and civic minded constitutional monarchs.
The King's statement ends with the words, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all. So, they will be furious that the work
that they were doing yesterday, where the King was in London opening a theater, and the Prince of Wales, the Hedge of the Throne, was launching
and standing up for male mental health issues, this is the agenda they want to be promoting, and they're being dragged back into this Andrew situation.
The Queen was asked today by journalists about Andrew. The King, just now in London, asked about Andrew. It's extremely difficult. And so, as with, I
mean, with Diana, actually, Diana had been almost cauterized from the family. It was the response to her death that was so damaging.
And then they learned, albeit slowly. With this instance, they've tried to cauterize the issue beforehand. And the fact that the King has been
arrested at Sandringham out of the public eye is in consequence, in part of what's been happening in the last few weeks of the stripping of title, the
last few months, in fact, stripping of titles, the removal from Windsor, which is a public area, to Sandringham, which is private.
They've been trying to do this for some too late, and they've also done it according to Republic, which is the country's main anti-monarchist
organization, because of their actions and therefore private prosecution. So, it's a good day for Republicans, if not those who are necessarily
concerned with the UK brand globally.
ASHER: Yeah. Republic filed a very sort of detailed, as I understand, a criminal complaint, criminal report, and that is, apparently what they say,
is what led, perhaps to this arrest. Martin Farr live for us, always good to have you on the program. Thank you so much.
FARR: Thank you.
ASHER: We'll have much more on this breaking news out of the UK and the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. Plus, U.S. President Donald Trump
convenes his first Board of Peace Meeting, while he also contemplates whether or not to attack Iran. We'll have more on that as well. Straight
ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:35:00]
ASHER: More now in terms of our ongoing breaking news coverage, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the younger brother of King Charles III, has been
arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Police in unmarked vehicles arrived at his home at Sandringham earlier today on his 66th
birthday.
Police haven't said what led them to this arrest, but the Former Prince spent a decade as Trade Envoy for the UK between 2001 and 2011. Gordon
Brown, who was the British Prime Minister from 2007 to 2010 says that he provided additional information to relevant police forces regarding the
Epstein files after the arrest.
King Charles III said he learned of the arrest with deepest concern and stressed that the law must take its course. His younger brother has
previously denied all allegations of wrong doing over his links to the disgraced financier.
An attorney for one of Jeffrey Epstein's victims says Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest may restore some faith for those who believe that justice was
unreachable. The Former Prince was accused of sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre when she was a teenager, something that he has vehemently denied.
Earlier, CNN spoke with an Epstein survivor to get her reaction to the news.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARINA LACERDA, JEFFREY EPSTEIN SURVIVOR: It's amazing, and it's really, really something that all the survivors have been looking forward and
working towards. And I have to say, Virginia's brother and sister must be thrilled right now. You know, I just look at it. It's insane how everyone's
taking action and we are doing nothing in the United States.
I'm right here in Norway right now. We have Princess Mehta (ph) answering to questions, and it's just really sad that United States is not taking any
action. But I'm very, very happy that, you know, we have again, you know we're making history here. So, this is big.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: We'll continue our breaking news coverage of the arrest throughout the rest of "One World". And here are some other stories we are watching
for you today, the search for Nancy Guthrie is now in its third week, with investigators still apparently at a loss to uncover a motive in her
abduction.
An official familiar with the case told CNN, teams of FBI and local law enforcement are reviewing thousands of hours of video obtained from the
Greater Tucson area. Gloves found two miles from her home yielded no DNA matches in the U.S. national database.
Battering snow and white out conditions are stalling the recovery of the bodies of eight skiers who died on Tuesday following California's deadliest
avalanche in recorded history. They were part of a group of 15 skiers and guides who are on a three-day trip in the Sierra Nevada, back country. One
person is missing and presumed dead. Six people were rescued.
[11:40:00]
Former South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol has been handed a life sentence after a court found him guilty of leading an insurrection. It happened
during his brief declaration of Marshall Law in late 2024 that plunged the country into a constitutional crisis. Prosecutors had demanded a death
sentence.
Microsoft's Founder Bill Gates has canceled the keynote address he was scheduled to deliver at the AI Impact Summit underway now in India. No
reason was provided for his withdrawal. That comes amid fresh scrutiny over the tech billionaires ties the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Gates has not been accused of any wrongdoing related to Epstein.
All right, U.S. President Donald Trump's Board of Peace held its inaugural meeting in Washington earlier, but some key U.S. allies with notably absent
along with any Palestinian representation.
Among those who did not attend the far-right President of Argentina, Hungary's Authoritarian Prime Minister and the President of FIFA, the
board, which is charged by Chaired, rather by Trump, and requires a billion-dollar fee from each member nation was originally tasked with
overseeing the reconstruction of Gaza. But its purpose has since expanded to tackle conflicts all over the world. Here's how Trump described the
board's mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: What we're doing is very simple, peace. It's called the Board of Peace, and it's all about
an easy word to say, but a hard word to produce peace, but we're going to produce it. We've been doing a really good job. And some of these leaders
that are with us have helped me very much during just this first year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ASHER: All right, CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Jerusalem for us. Kylie Atwood joins us live now from the U.S. Institute of Peace in Washington. Kylie,
let me get in with you. I mean, it is important to note that some major European allies refuse to accept the invitation to attend, including the
UK, Germany, France. Obviously, as you've talked about, there's no Palestinian representation here. Just walk us through what we can expect to
emerge and to be achieved by this meeting today.
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN U.S. SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, there were some pretty substantial commitments that President Trump spoke to when he spoke
here at the U.S. Institute of Peace, now rebranded to be the Trump Institute of Peace here in Washington.
And I want to point out that, you know, he said that not only would the member countries be committing, but also the United States. He said the
U.S. would be putting $10 billion into the Board of Peace. He said that the member nations have thus far committed $7 billion to reconstruction in
Gaza, specifically.
And when it comes to the question of a stabilization force in Gaza that we have been discussing and had questions about, he said that there are five
countries that have contributed troops or policemen who will be part of stabilizing Gaza, Indonesia, Morocco, Albania, Kosovo and Kazakhstan.
He said that Egypt and Jordan are both going to be providing training and troops for a police force inside a Palestinian police force. So, we're
going to have to watch and see how those commitments play out? What the time frame is for when those commitments actually come to fruition?
But it's very clear that the countries who came here to this meeting today, particularly those countries who have already agreed to join the board,
there are more than 20 of them, wanted to make some substantial commitments, not only, of course, because the reconstruction, the
rebuilding of Gaza, is incredibly important.
But it also garners them some favor with the U.S. President, who had some very admirable words for these countries, who have made contributions to
date. While, as you said, there are European nations, there are typical U.S. allies who have not joined this board.
Some of them were here in Washington sending a representative to see what was happening at this meeting, but they haven't made a commitment to join
this due to concerns that this is a board that could compete with the United Nations.
President Trump didn't shy away from that possibility, saying that this is a board that would be looking over the United Nations during his remarks
today. So, we'll have to watch and see what happens with these developments.
But there were substantial developments and commitments that President Trump spoke to when he was speaking to all the leaders and all the
diplomats who convened here in Washington for this inaugural meeting.
ASHER: All right Kylie, stand by. Jeremy, let me bring you in, because Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu did come out and say, look, the only way
there is going to be reconstruction in Gaza is if Hamas disarms. And obviously this idea of disarmament of Hamas has pretty much for the longest
time been a central Israeli demand. But a lot of questions as to how exactly that is going to happen, Jeremy?
[11:45:00]
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, without a doubt. And certainly today, we got a lot more meat on the bones in terms of some of
the goals of what needs to happen in Gaza. You know, we got specific numbers of troops, of police forces that are intended to be deployed as
Kylie outlined.
We got the names of some of the countries that say that they will be providing troops. We got the amount of money that's going to be committed
so far towards the reconstruction of Gaza. But amid all of those additional details that we didn't have before, still remain a big gap here between the
goals of all of this and what actually needs to happen on the ground in order for it to become a reality?
And that is Hamas' agreement to disarm and Israel accepting whatever that disarmament actually looks like, because it's not like disarmament is a
clear and unambiguous term. There are a lot of gradations there in terms of what disarmament might actually look like? What types of weapons would
require to be given up? To whom would they have to be given to?
And so, what you need here, that we don't yet have, is Hamas' consent to disarm, and also Israel agreeing to whatever that definition of disarmament
actually is. And so, we heard a little bit from Ali Shah, for example, who is the man in charge of this National Committee for the Administration of
Gaza, this Board of Palestinian Technocrats that is working under the Board of Peace to actually oversee the day to day inside the Gaza Strip, and that
will be overseeing this disarmament process.
And he made clear that they are operating right now in extremely difficult conditions. He talked about how much of Gaza is destroyed. The humanitarian
needs that still very much exist there. And he reaffirmed that the goal is indeed one authority, one law, one weapon, talking about ultimately taking
over civilian authority in Gaza from Hamas, taking over the weapons from Hamas under a Palestinian police force inside of the Gaza Strip.
But it is clear how much work still needs to be done. He talked about deploying a Palestinian police force of some 5000 officers within the next
60 days. That also seems to align with the timeline that we've heard from Israelis talking about 60 days for Hamas to disarm. And should that
disarmament not happen, Israeli officials have made very clear that they will carry it out themselves, meaning by returning to war in Gaza.
And that is indeed the cloud that is hanging over all of this, and why we heard so many officials say this is the only option. This is all that needs
to happen. Because the alternative, as everyone in that room very much understands, is that Israel will return to war. The president, though, said
he does believe that Hamas will disarm, but if they don't, he said they will be, quote, very harshly, met Zain.
ASHER: All right, Jeremy Diamond and Kylie Atwood, thank you both so much. We'll have much more news on the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor after
a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:50:00]
ASHER: All right, a reminder of our breaking news this hour, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been arrested in the UK on suspicion of misconduct
in public office. Police have not said what specifically led to the arrest. Andrew spent a decade as UK Trade Envoy. The arrest follows the U.S.
government's release of documents detailing the former Prince's ties to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Officers were pictured arriving at Mountbatten-Windsor's home at Sandringham in King Charles's Estate in Norfolk. Mountbatten-Windsor has
previously denied any wrongdoing over his ties to Epstein. A Royal source says Buckingham Palace was not informed in advance about the arrest.
Let's go back to our Royal Correspondent, Max Foster joining us live now from Buckingham Palace. So, Max just in terms of what happens next. I mean,
the police have about 24 hours total to either charge him or ultimately release him. They could extend it to 96 hours with special permission. Just
explain to us what happens next here?
FOSTER: Well, they clearly got some information which warranted this very high-profile arrest. So, we don't know what that information is. The only
sort of you know idea that we have here is that the Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he filed some fresh information to police.
So perhaps there was something within that. Perhaps it's something that they found in the Epstein files. It's not clear under, you know, UK rules
in this situation, they limit the amount of information they release. On the basis that Andrew may be released and he should be allowed to go back
to a regular life, as it were.
So that's why they don't name him and give any specific details. So, the only thing we really have to go on is that this was an arrest in Norfolk by
Thames Valley Police, which is from a different area, and they arrested Andrew, and they were investigating or inquiring about Andrew's role in
public office.
So, the assumption would be this was in relation to his role as a Trade Envoy, and there were allegations in the Epstein files around him sharing
confidential government information with Epstein in that role. So, this is separate from any sexual allegations that were made against Andrew,
specifically about his role in public office.
ASHER: And just in terms of how this is going to shake the British Royal Family. I mean, as I've mentioned before, they came out with a statement,
quite swift statement, with King Charles saying, look, you know that he supports a full and fair investigation. He didn't mention Andrew
Mountbatten-Windsor as his brother.
But they have weathered a number of crises in the past, the British Royals, obviously, as you've covered many of them. But how is this one different,
Max?
FOSTER: Well, this one's different because it involves the police. I think the last big crisis for the Royal Family was after Diana died, and the way
that the family responded, which led to an all-time low in the poll ratings for the British Monarchy.
This is something completely out of their control. All they can do is stand back and allow the police investigation to continue. And it's very complex.
Misconduct in public office is a very hard charge to stand down. He hasn't been charged -- stand up rather. He hasn't been charged with that yet, but
it's very complex. These are historic matters.
So, what they're going to do is go into all of his computers, I imagine, and try to match up what they saw in the Epstein files to anything that he
might have. It's very hard to prove. And what that means for the British Monarchy is that this story will rumble on and on and on, and anything that
they do in public, as we have seen today with the public engagements, will be overshadowed by the Andrew issue.
They are effectively paralyzed in their role of representing the UK and promoting causes and British interests, because everything keeps going back
to Andrew, and that association keeps growing. There is no evidence that King Charles knew any of these claims against Andrew. But if the police
find that, that could be pretty disastrous for the Royal brand, if you like, because ultimately, is a brand, and it does need public trust to
survive.
ASHER: And Max, lastly, just give us a sort brief timeline of how the sort of past sort of six months have gone for Former Prince Andrew, just in
terms of him being stripped of his Royal title.
[11:55:00]
And then, obviously subsequently being evicted from the Royal Lodge that was his residence at Windsor and now made to live at Sandringham, which is
the King's private residence. So, he was evicted from public residences and made to live in the private residences at Sandringham. Talk us through the
timeline here.
FOSTER: Well, he was meant to be drawing a line under this with that famous BBC interview where Andrew sat down and spoke very frankly about what he
knew and how he did the honorable thing, and how he broke off his friendship with Epstein years ago?
And most of what was in that interview has been undermined. That whole narrative has been undermined as each part of it gets undermined. The King
has had to step up and try to separate himself from Andrew. So initially, it was getting rid of most of his Royal titles. Then it was taking away his
Prince title, which was a huge constitutional issue for them to do.
Then it was evicting him from his mansion on the Windsor Estate and leaving him across to Norfolk. But even that still left a tie to the King, because
it's the King's Estate. And we saw the King's Estate being raided by police today. So that's where we've ended up at.
And now the prince as he was, is sitting potentially in a cell between interviews, which we haven't seen for hundreds of years for a senior Royal.
So, it's an extraordinary situation.
ASHER: Yeah, it is beyond remarkable. Max Foster live for us there. Thank you so much. All right, stay with CNN. I'll have much more "One World"
after the short break with much more on the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten- Windsor.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
