Ex-Prince Andrew in September 2025; Sarah Ferguson in September 2024.Credit : Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images; Rob Kim/Getty Images

NEED TO KNOW

The historic arrest of the former Prince Andrew has plunged the monarchy into crisis, marking the first arrest of a royal since 1649
King Charles’ brother was detained on his 66th birthday, Feb. 19; his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, has remained out of public view, with her whereabouts unknown
“The stain of what Andrew did is spreading across the monarchy itself and undermining it,” royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith tells PEOPLE In this week’s issue

With neither of his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, nor his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, set to visit on his 66th birthday, the disgraced former Prince Andrew awoke alone at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate on Feb. 19. Instead of family, police officers arrived at his door.

Shortly after 8 a.m., authorities arrested the former Duke of York on suspicion of misconduct in public office, linked to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and drove him away in an unmarked car. As news broke within the hour and images of police vehicles at Sandringham ricocheted around the world, Andrew’s family — led by his brother, King Charles — was learning of the arrest in real time.

“This is the place where the Queen spent her last birthday in April 2022,” Robert Jobson, author of The Windsor Legacy, tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “Four years later it’s been raided by the police. It beggars belief.”

The arrest, the first of a royal since 1649, when King Charles I was beheaded for high treason, sent shock waves through the House of Windsor and raised renewed questions about accountability and privilege.

“If it comes out that people knew stuff — whether it be members of the family or police or staffers — then heads must roll,” Jobson says.

Andrew, 66, was taken to Aylsham police station in Norfolk, where he was read his rights and held for 11 hours before being released under investigation. As he left the station, cameras captured him slumped in the back of an SUV. The arrest came nearly four months after he was stripped of his remaining princely title and ordered to leave his longtime Royal Lodge home over his Epstein links.

Ex-Prince Andrew in April 2025.Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty

“He looked broken. Haunted,” says Ailsa Anderson, former press secretary to Queen Elizabeth. “That reverence people once had for the royal family is disappearing. This is the damage Andrew has done.”

Charles marked the moment with a brief statement: “I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office… Let me state clearly: The law must take its course.”

The wording was deliberate, Anderson adds: “It was a way of distancing himself.”

Prince Andrew and King Charles at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral at Westminster Cathedral in London on Sept. 16, 2025.Chris Jackson/Getty

Royal duty continued in the hours and days after the arrest, with King Charles, Queen Camilla,   Prince William and Kate Middleton all carrying on with work. The Prince and Princess of Wales were at their country home just miles from where Andrew was arrested on Feb. 19 and then stepped out for the BAFTAs on Feb. 22, where they ignored a red carpet heckler who shouted, “Is the monarchy in peril?”

Moments later, when asked if he had seen the emotional, nominated film Hamnet, William admitted, “I need to be in quite a calm state. And I’m not at the moment.”

As Andrew’s arrest reverberated beyond palace walls, attention turned to those closest to him. His ex-wife, Ferguson, who had lived with him at Royal Lodge and has not been seen in public since before Christmas, traveled abroad. The former Duchess of York faces renewed scrutiny over her past dealings with Epstein and whether she may be questioned by police in Andrew’s case.

Ferguson, 66, was reported to have spent time at a luxury wellness clinic in Switzerland in January and is currently believed to be abroad as she considers a return to the U.K., though her precise whereabouts remain unclear.

Meanwhile, the former couple’s daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, found themselves caught in the crossfires. Eugenie, 35, had been skiing with her husband and sons in ­Gstaad, Switzerland, while Beatrice, 37, has not been seen publicly in weeks. Both sisters were reported to be “in a state” after their father’s arrest.

Princess Beatrice, Sarah Ferguson and Princess Eugenie at The Anti Slavery Collective’s inaugural Winter Gala in London on Nov. 29, 2023.Dave Benett/Getty

Released under investigation and without bail conditions, Andrew faces an uncertain legal road ahead. He could remain in legal limbo for weeks or even months as police examine documents — released by the U.S. Department of Justice amid heightened scrutiny of those in Epstein’s orbit — that allegedly show Andrew sharing information with Epstein obtained during his work as the U.K.’s trade envoy.

Prosecutors, ultimately, will decide whether charges are brought. If he is convicted, misconduct in public office carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. The British government is also reportedly considering legislation that would remove Andrew from the line of succession, a blow to the son long viewed as Queen Elizabeth’s favorite.

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Andrew at Royal Ascot on June 22, 2017.Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty

The timing further compounds pressure on King Charles’ reign, already strained by his cancer treatment, Kate’s cancer recovery and the ongoing rift with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. For William, preparing for his future role, the episode has reinforced long-held frustrations.

The Prince of Wales, 43, is understood to support his father’s approach but believes the monarchy could have acted sooner. What comes next may determine not just Andrew’s fate, but the future of the institution.

“The stain of what Andrew did is spreading across the monarchy itself and undermining it,” says royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith. “It’s unlike anything the modern monarchy has faced.”