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Calarogu Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigu. I
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am your host, Mark Francis Andrew mount Patten Windsome was
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released under investigation after spending approximately eleven hours in police
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custody as detectives continue a widening inquiry into allegations of
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misconduct in public office. The former prince was arrested shortly
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after eight am on Thursday at wood Farm on the
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Standringham estate in Norfolk. A friend told The Sun the
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plan was to spend a quiet and lonely sixty sixth
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birthday at wood Farm as no one was coming round
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to celebrate with him, not even Fergie or their two children,
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Beatrice and Eugenie. He was expecting to spend the day
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with seven dogs. Instead he had fifteen cops at his door.
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Then Andrew was taken to Aylsham police station, questioned, and
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later photographed leaving in the backseat of a vehicle at
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around seven pm. The image of air Andrew reclining in
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the rear of the car, hands loosely clasped has already
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become emblematic of the day's events. Released under investigation means
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Andrew is not on bail and faces no conditions. As
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legal correspondent Dominic Cassiani explains to the BBC, this is
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the least intrusive option available to police. When someone is arrested,
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officers must decide whether to charge them, take no further action,
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release them on bail with conditions, or release them under investigation.
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Andrew's release under investigation is used when officers are in
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the early stages of an inquiry and it would be
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disproportionate to impose restrictions while significant investigative work remains. He
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is free to travel and live normally, but he can
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be re interviewed or re arrested if necessary. There is
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no time limit for when the charges could be brought.
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The investigation centers on alleged actions taken during Andrew's time
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as UK Trade Envoy. Misconduct in public office is a
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complex common law offense. As Cassiani explains, police must establish
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four elements that the individual was a public officer, that
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they wilfully neglected or misconducted themselves, that the act amounted
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to an abuse of public trust, and that there was
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no reasonable excuse. The maximum sentence for the offense is
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life imprisonment. Legal commentator Joshua Rosenberg has explained that it
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is standard practice in complex financial or white collar cases
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for police to arrest early in the morning in order
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to secure search powers. Immediately at the point of arrest,
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police are given powers to conduct searches at properties where
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the arrested person lives or has lived. He said. When
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these things happen, the last thing the police want to
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do is for the suspect to be tipped off. Police
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have been seen entering Royal Lodge in unmarked vehicles. Officers
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are understood to be cataloging and logging any seized materials,
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a process that could take days. Questions have also been
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raised about whether Buckingham Palace could be searched. Rosenberg said
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he is sure the King would waive any privilege if required.
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King Charles was not informed in advance of the arrest,
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According to BBC Understanding, the optics of the day were dramatic.
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Reutter's photographer Film Noble, detailed how he captured the now
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widely circulated image of Andrew leaving custody. You can plan
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and use your experience and know roughly what you need
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to do, but still everything needs to a lion, he said,
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adding that shots of a moving car require more luck
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than judgment. In The Royalist, Tom Sakes described the photo.
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This astonishing photograph of Prince Andrew, hunkered down in the
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back seat of a car as he is whisked out
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of a Norfolk police station looks set to become one
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of those iconic images we can never forget. His hands
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are steepled together in front of him, his head tilted back.
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What is the motion on his show? Shocked face, shock, surprise, astonishment, fear.
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For the BBC Shawn Coffin ads the show shocked, disbelieving,
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haunted face of Andrew mount Batten Windsor will become part
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of how his arrest will be remembered. It will become
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the counterpart of that other face, Miss Andrew. Picture taken
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almost twenty five years ago, a smiling, confident Prince beside
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a seventeen year old Virginia Jeffrey in a London townhouse
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when the Capitol was his playground. Across the UK newspapers
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led with the same photograph when he quoted the King's
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words over the image, the law must take its course.
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Andrew returned to Sandringham late Thursday night. He remains eighth
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in lane to the throne and technically a Councilor of State.
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Despite the gravity of the situation, King Charles continued with
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scheduled engagements throughout the day. He welcomed El Salvador's ambassador,
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Francisco Lima Mena, to a royal residence before attending London
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Fashion Week, where he was seated near designer Stella McCartney
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daughter Paul McCartney. As he departed the fashion venue, members
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of the press shouted questions, but the monarch did not respond.
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Online reaction was swift. One royal watcher said people are stunned,
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asking how Charles can sit front road at a glam
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event while his brother is in custody. The optics are terrible.
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An insider said, the King believes stability is paramount. He
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feels it is important to show the monarchy carries on,
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and that is what he was doing by attending the
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fashion event. US President Donald Trump has reacted to the
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arrest of Andrew mount Batten Windsor, describing the situation as
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very sad. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, President
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Trump said, I think it's a shame. I think it's
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very sad. I think it's so bad for the royal family.
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It's very very sad to me. It's a very sad thing.
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The President also praised King Charles, calling him a fantastic
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man who's obviously coming to our country very soon. Royal insided.
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Did Crown observed the moment King Charles steps onto American
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soil and positions himself beside President Trump for the customary
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handshakes and pleasantries. Every American journalist worth their press credentials
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will have one question burning in their pocket, and it
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has nothing to do with trade agreements or the special relationship.
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Put the two men in the same frame, and you
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have handed the American Press Corps a gift. They will
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not leave unwrapped. The palace will be managing that particular
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minefield very carefully. Indeed, more palaces the moment. Questions have
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been raised about whether Andrew mount Baton Windsor has sovereign
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immunity following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
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Sovereign immunity is a legal doctrine under which a sovereign
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is immune from civil suits or criminal prosecution. In a
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previous response to a freedom of information request, the Ministry
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of Justice explained that the monarch is immune from arrest
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In all cases, the king, as head of state, has
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sovereign immunity from both civil and criminal proceedings. That is
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a long established customary rule of law, not statutory provisions
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reports UK in a changing Europe, that immunity even extends
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to minor matters such as parking tickets. However, Andrew is
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not the king. There is nothing in law preventing Andrew
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mount Baton Windsor from being criminally prosecuted. Sovereign immunity applies
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only to the reigning monarch. Andrew, who is no longer
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a working royal and was stripped of his royal titles,
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does not benefit from that protection. Andrew Lowney, the author
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of entitled The Rise and Fall of the House of York,
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welcomed the arrest of Andrew, calling it great news and
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praising police for taking it seriously after years of public pressure.
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Speaking to The Mirror, Lowney said, I didn't expect this.
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I welcome it. It's what we've been calling for for ages.
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Shows they're taking it seriously. What a birth they present.
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Let's hope that they followed through. I think they were
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all pretty cynical about whether it would happen. It looks
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like they are taking this seriously. I think the monarchy
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has been saved. Sky News royal commentator Alistair Bruce said
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that the detention of the King's brother is the worst
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possible thing for the Crown and about as critical an
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event as the institution could have to face. For the King,
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it must be awful to face this. He is the
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person in whose name ultimately police constables do their work,
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and now his brother is a subject of a judicial process.
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Bruce explained, I think it must be ghastly for the
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King and all members of the royal family to watch
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this take place. Bruts noted the rarity of such a development,
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saying the only comparable case involving a sibling of a
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reigning monarch dates back to fifteen fifty four, when Elizabeth
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Tudor was detained over her alleged involvement in the Wyat
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rebellion against her sister, Queen Mary. He said, I think
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that gives you a sense of how distant it is
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to the concept of what monarchy is about and how
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it should serve. The nation is not expecting this kind
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of thing from someone who was once the son of
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a sovereign and the brother of a sovereign. Royal commentator
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Jenny Bond described the arrests probably the worst nightmare for
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the Palace and for the King. You would think he
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now is finding himself face to face with the reality
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of the fact that he is no longer in the
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privileged position he was in before. Yes, he is arrogant.
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Now he is being ordered. One assumes to do whatever
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the police is saying he must do. It's something he
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would never have experienced in his life and it would
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be his worst nightmare as well. I think Palace Entry
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will remain on a modified publishing schedule, and there you
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have it. If you'd like to email us or addresses
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the palasintrigu at gmail dot com. Please follow us on Spotify,
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Apple or the app of your choice, and check us
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out on Facebook or Instagram. I'm Mark Francis My thanks
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to John McDermott this Palace Intrigue in good terms.