Andrew Challenges the Search Warrants; the King’s Money Is Ruled Out
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is seeking judicial review of warrants for Sandringham and Royal Lodge, issued at the Central Criminal Court on 18 February, the day before his arrest on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. A hearing is listed for Thursday afternoon. A royal source says the King’s private allowance must not fund the action.
The challenge is against the chief constable of Thames Valley Police and against the Central Criminal Court itself. The force said only that it is “engaged in legal proceedings in relation to warrants previously obtained” and that it would be inappropriate to comment further; Thursday’s hearing begins in private, with the judge first considering a police application to keep some documents from publication. The money question is the one with constitutional edge. The King’s private allowance is not the Sovereign Grant, the £138 million of public funding for the monarchy, but his own income including the Duchy of Lancaster — and the sum involved has not been disclosed. At the time of the arrest the King said the law “must take its course”. As for what a win would be worth, Nick Vamos, a criminal lawyer and former head of special crime at the Crown Prosecution Service, offered the first substantive public scepticism since February: even if the warrants are quashed, “that would not necessarily be the victory it might first appear”, because police can apply to the Crown Court to retain the material anyway. Watch Thursday, and whether any of it is heard in open court.