The British monarchy woke up to a new reality on Friday, after one of their own, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, a younger brother of King Charles III, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Mountbatten-Windsor, one of the late Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip's four children, spent some 11 hours in police custody Thursday as he was held and questioned at a police station not far from his new home on the king's privately owned Sandringham Estate in Norfolk, England.
Mountbatten-Windsor -- known as Prince Andrew before being stripped of his royal titles and honors last October -- was released Thursday without charge. He remains under investigation though after the emergence of documents released by the U.S. Justice Department, which show communications between Mountbatten-Windsor and the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
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Thames Valley Police, the department that arrested Mountbatten-Windsor, say they are continuing to search Royal Lodge, Mountbatten-Windsor's former home on the grounds of Windsor Castle, for evidence, including computers and other electronic devices. The former prince left Royal Lodge and moved to Norfolk on Feb. 4, under orders from his older brother Charles.
Mountbatten-Windsor has previously denied wrongdoing with respect to Epstein. He has not spoken publicly since his arrest.
While he remains under investigation, whether or not Mountbatten-Windsor will be charged with a crime is a question that could take weeks to years to answer, according to Vicky Lankester, a solicitor specializing in criminal and regulatory defense with U.K. law firm Brett Wilson.
"This could be over very quickly, or it could be over in months, years. No one really knows," Lankester, who is not involved in Mountbatten-Windsor's case, told ABC News on Friday. "Andrew's been what's called 'released under investigation,' so that means there's no kind of, like, deadlines or anything that the police have to abide by."
Misconduct in public office is a charge that is rare in the U.K., according to Lankester.
"It's an offense contrary to common law, as opposed to any legislation making it a criminal offense, and guidance on the prosecution says that if you can, you charge someone with a statutory offense, as opposed to a common law offense, because it's easier and it's kind of fairer to all parties," she said. "So you don't kind of see these sorts of cases that often."
While Mountbatten-Windsor remains under investigation, he is not under any conditions, meaning he is free to travel and does not have to report to a court or police department, Lankester noted.
If Mountbatten-Windsor is charged with misconduct in public office, he will face a jury trial with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment.
Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest appears to relate to emails he sent Epstein during his time as the U.K. trade envoy in 2010. The emails, released by the U.S. Justice Department in January, suggest Mountbatten-Windsor may have allegedly discussed potential business dealings with the disgraced financier while working for the government.
Looking ahead, Mountbatten-Windsor could face additional investigations, including a second one by Thames Valley Police.
"We are aware of reports about a woman said to have been taken to an address in Windsor in 2010 for sexual purposes," the department said in a Feb. 12 statement. "We are assessing the information and following established procedures to seek further information with law enforcement partners in the United States."
Thames Valley Police have not provided an update on that assessment.
Separately, London's Metropolitan Police announced on Feb. 18 that they are launching enquiries into allegations that members of Mountbatten-Windsor's royal protection team may have ignored illegal activity on Epstein's Caribbean island.
"Protection officers are held to the same high standards of professional behaviour as all police officers. At this time, we have not identified any wrongdoing by any protection officers. However, initial enquiries into these specific allegations have begun so we can establish the facts," the Met Police said in statement. "As with any investigation, should any new allegations come to light these will be assessed in the usual way. This includes any misconduct or criminal matters. It would be inappropriate for us to comment further while other enquiries related to these matters are ongoing."
Epstein died by suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial for allegedly sexually abusing dozens of girls in New York and Florida. He earlier served a 13-month jail sentence and work release, the result of a 2008 plea bargain with federal prosecutors in Florida.
Another question hanging over Mountbatten-Windsor is his place in the royal family's line of succession.
Currently, he is eighth in line to the British throne behind Charles' two sons -- Princes William and Harry -- and their combined five children.
U.K. politicians are now debating whether they should introduce legislation to have Mountbatten-Windsor officially removed from the line of succession.
The Government will consider introducing legislation to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession once the police investigation has concluded, ABC News understands.
"Changing the order of succession, having someone removed is extremely complicated," said ABC News royal contributor Alastair Bruce, adding that the easier route is for Mountbatten-Windsor to abdicate his spot.
"What the king might do is ask his brother to abdicate from it, which he can, but getting him forcibly removed, the king can't do that," he said. "Parliament can do it, but Parliament, quite frankly, is trying to get growth going in the United Kingdom. It's trying to deal with all the other ambitions of the present government. They really don't want to be spending time on the order of succession."
