Andrew's arrest is 'bad for the royal family,' says Trump

His comments came after the former prince was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over his ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

20 Feb 2026 03:10pm

A pedestrian walks past a sign for a street originally named after Britain's former prince Andrew, with the title of "prince" blackened out, along a road in the town of Carrickfergus, County Antrim in Northern Ireland on November 25, 2025. A Northern Irish council has voted to rename a street in the town of Carrickfergus called after Britain's disgraced former prince Andrew. Mid and East Antrim is the first UK council to drop the ex-prince from a street name following King Charles III's decision to remove his brother -- now known as Andrew Mountbatten Windsor -- from public life. (Photo by Paul Faith / AFP)

LONDON - United States (US) President Donald Trump has said the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is "so bad for the royal family," reported PA Media/dpa.

His comments came after the former prince was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over his ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Speaking to reporters as he travelled to Georgia for an event, Trump praised Andrew's brother, Britain's King Charles III, and said he "would be coming to our country very soon".

The president said Andrew's arrest is "a shame". He added, "I think it's very sad. I think it's so bad for the royal family.

"When I see that, it's a very sad thing. To see it, and to see what's going on with his brother, who's obviously coming to our country very soon, and he's a fantastic man, the King, so I think it's a very sad thing."

Andrew was arrested on Thursday morning following allegations made against him after the release of files related to paedophile financier Epstein.

The former duke, who is the first senior royal in modern history to be arrested, was held in custody for around 11 hours before he was released under investigation by Thames Valley Police.

Andrew, who was pictured slouching in the back of a vehicle as he left Aylsham police station in Norfolk, arrived back at Sandringham on Thursday evening.

He was detained on his 66th birthday over allegations he shared sensitive information with Epstein while serving as the United Kingdom (UK)'s trade envoy.

Thames Valley Police previously said the force was reviewing allegations after emails released by the US Department of Justice appeared to show Andrew sharing reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore with the disgraced financier.

One email from the files, dated November 2010, appeared to be forwarded by Andrew five minutes after being sent by his then-special adviser, Amir Patel.

Another, on Christmas Eve 2010, appeared to show Andrew sent Epstein a confidential brief on investment opportunities in the reconstruction of Helmand province in Afghanistan.

Andrew has denied any wrongdoing over his Epstein links, but has not directly responded to the latest allegations. - BERNAMA-PA MEDIA/dpa