The former “Prince Andrew,” now Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, has applied for a judicial review of his arrest. Andrew was detained and arrested back in February, and the Thames Valley Police also executed search warrants on Marsh Farm and Royal Lodge simultaneously. Right now, there are multiple ongoing police investigations, and at least one former prime minister (Gordon Brown) has been feeding information to law enforcement. Still, Andrew has not been formally charged, and I guess Andrew’s lawyers think this judicial review is a good idea, or they believe that Andrew still has a hand to play in this situation. In any case, King Charles wants everyone to know that he’s not paying for Andrew’s legal stunt. Except Charles probably IS paying for it.

The King has insisted that private funding he gives to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor must not be used to fund his legal action against police. A Buckingham Palace source said the monarch had no involvement in the former Duke of York’s application for a judicial review of his arrest by Thames Valley Police.

They added that it had been “made clear” to Mr Mountbatten-Windsor that the financial provision he receives from his elder brother should not be used to fund the High Court claim.

The Telegraph revealed on Monday that the former duke had launched legal action against Thames Valley Police over the circumstances of his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. The claim concerns the actions of officers when executing the search warrant.

However, the force has applied to keep the details of the legal claim secret. A hearing scheduled to take place at the High Court on Thursday will hear its application to restrict access to court documents.

Mr Mountbatten-Windsor receives an annual six-figure stipend from the King via his private funds, which includes an allowance made for the cost of private security.

When he was arrested in February on suspicion of misconduct in public office, the Palace made clear that the taxpayer would not foot his legal bill. A well-placed source said at the time that if the former duke was unable to pay for his own legal representation, the financial burden would “not fall on the public purse”.

The King has appeared keen to distance himself from his brother’s subsequent decision to sue the police. It is understood that when the two sides discussed the matter, the Palace immediately made clear that the monarch’s personal funding must not be used. The legal bill could potentially run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

[From The Telegraph]

“…If the former duke was unable to pay for his own legal representation, the financial burden would ‘not fall on the public purse’…” This is palace obfuscation at work: it’s most likely that King Charles has paid for everything involving Andrew out of the monarch’s personal piggy bank, the Duchy of Lancaster. When the palace loudly proclaims that Andrew is not receiving “public funds” for this or that, they mean that Andrew isn’t receiving anything from the Sovereign Grant, the increasingly large “public funding” tied to the Crown Estate’s profits. My point is that no one actually knows how much money Charles has given Andrew or how much has been spent on Andrew – we know Charles financed the refurbishment of Marsh Farm and Charles is paying for Andrew’s (allegedly private) security and for Andrew’s household staff (maids, etc). We also know Charles is giving Andrew some kind of “stipend” for Andrew’s upkeep. Basically, Charles is financing Andrew’s lavish lifestyle still, to this day, and I would assume that some of those “private” funds are going towards Andrew’s legal bills.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.