Tom McArdle
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been ordered to stop riding horses, it has been reported.
Royal aides warned the former Duke of York not to be seen on horseback, fearing it would be a “bad look” for him to be enjoying himself while under police investigation, according to The Sun newspaper.
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office and questioned for almost 12 hours amid accusations he shared confidential information with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. He is the first member of the Royal family in modern history to be detained.
Before being forced to move out of Royal Lodge in Windsor, he was often seen riding around the estate. Indeed, the first time he was seen in public after being stripped of his royal titles, he was on horseback with a female companion.
A source told The Sun: “Since his arrest last week, he has been ordered not to go horse riding. It’s considered a bad look.
“They don’t think he should be seen grinning and smiling on his horse like he was in Windsor. But it was one of the few things he actually enjoyed doing, so what on earth is he going to do with his time?”
Mountbatten-Windsor allegedly angered aides when he was photographed grinning and waving at passers-by in Windsor, despite growing calls for a wider investigation into his dealings with Epstein.
Thames Valley Police are assessing claims in the Epstein files that suggest he sent the American financier sensitive government emails from 2001 to 2011, when the former prince was a trade envoy. Officers have finished searching Royal Lodge.
Parliament breaks protocol
On Tuesday, MPs broke with parliamentary tradition to criticise Mountbatten-Windsor, branding him a “rude, arrogant and entitled man” and accusing him of turning a blind eye to Epstein’s crimes, which included soliciting a minor for prostitution. By convention, MPs do not criticise members of the royal family.
The Liberal Democrats had tried to use a parliamentary mechanism to compel ministers to release files about Mountbatten-Windsor’s appointment as a trade envoy.
However, Downing Street is refusing to publish all the documents, claiming certain files could jeopardise the police investigation into his alleged misconduct.
The documents could also show the extent of Lord Mandelson’s role in the appointment, as well as details of the due diligence process. The London Telegraph previously revealed how Lord Mandelson helped Mountbatten-Windsor secure the job of trade envoy, against the wishes of the King.
Lord Mandelson was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Monday. The former Labour cabinet minister was detained by Metropolitan Police officers after a tip-off that he was about to flee Britain for the British Virgin Islands.
The peer was required to surrender his passport as part of his bail conditions, following seven hours of police questioning. In a statement on Tuesday, lawyers for Lord Mandelson described allegations that he was planning to flee as “baseless”.
Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing over his links to Epstein. After his arrest, the King said in a statement that “the law must take its course”.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
The Telegraph, London
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