DISGRACED royal Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was preparing to spend his 66th birthday alone with seven dogs when six police cars arrived today.
As many as 15 officers from two forces were involved in the 8am raid — where he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Andrew had just woken up — officially as a pensioner — when the convoy swooped at Wood Farm on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk.
A source said the team of Thames Valley Police officers, supported by Norfolk Police, arrived with “stealth, speed and surprise”.
With no visits from friends and family planned or expected, Andrew was set to spend the day alone with two corgis which used to belong to his mum, the late Queen Elizabeth, and five Norfolk terriers.
A friend said: “The plan was to spend a quiet and lonely 66th birthday at Wood Farm as no one was coming round to celebrate with him, not even Fergie or their two children Beatrice and Eugenie.
READ MORE ON ANDREW ARREST
FERGIE LAYS LOW
Fergie nowhere to be seen as Andrew arrested & royal homes scoured
‘GOOD NEWS’
Andrew sent congratulations message to Epstein days after paedo was released
“He was expecting to spend the day with seven dogs, instead he had 15 coppers at his door.”
The police convoy would have been invisible to Andrew on the two-mile private road to his five-bed farmhouse near the village of Wolferton in Norfolk.
One cop car headed down a drive to the front of the property while the rest went via the back entrance to the house — which Andrew only moved into three weeks ago after his humiliating exile from Royal Lodge in Windsor.
Despite the major police operation on the royal estate, King Charles, 76, was not informed about his younger brother’s impending arrest before it happened.
The King, who yesterday held meetings at St James’s Palace and appeared at London Fashion Week, later issued a statement saying police have “our full and wholehearted support and cooperation”.
He had previously insisted “the law must take its course”.
At the same time as the swoop on Wood Farm, another Thames Valley Police team turned up at Royal Lodge in Windsor Great Park.
Armed with a search warrant signed by a magistrate, required as Andrew was not present, a full search was then carried out.
In a statement at 10am yesterday, Thames Valley Police said: “As part of the investigation, we have today arrested a man in his sixties from Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office and are carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk.
“The man remains in police custody at this time. We will not be naming the arrested man, as per national guidance.
“This case is now active so care should be taken with any publication to avoid contempt of court.”
Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said: “Following a thorough assessment, we have now opened an investigation into this allegation of misconduct in public office. It is important that we protect the integrity and objectivity of our investigation as we work with our partners to investigate this alleged offence. We understand the significant public interest in this case, and we will provide updates at the appropriate time.”
The police searches continued at Wood Farm until at least 6pm — eight hours after Andrew is understood to have been taken from the property by police.
Estate staff were seen entering the house throughout the day.
The raid and arrest came after increased pressure for police to act following fresh revelations in the millions of documents relating to Andrew’s paedo pal Jeffrey Epstein released by the US authorities.
Thames Valley Police last week confirmed it was assessing allegations of misconduct in public office and sex trafficking laid against the disgraced former duke.
Andrew is the first royal to be arrested since King Charles I in 1647 during the English Civil War. He was executed two years later.
Just before the police arrived at Andrew’s home, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was asked in a BBC Breakfast interview whether he thought the ex-prince should surrender himself for questioning.
He said: “I think that’s a matter for the police. They will conduct their own investigations, but one of the core principles in our system is that everybody is equal under the law and nobody is above the law.”
Insiders say the arrest marks the biggest crisis facing the Royal Family since the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936.
Police are expected to want to speak to Andrew’s ex-wife Sarah Ferguson, who also featured heavily in the Epstein Files.
A spokesman for the former Duchess of York refused to reveal her current location but it is thought that she is abroad.
Andrew arrest is a major crisis for Royal Family – it’s finally time for accountability over Epstein disgrace
By Matt Wilkinson
ANDREW Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest this morning had an air of inevitability after the release of Epstein Files and statements by police, politicians and palace.
But a raid by six unmarked vehicles at 8am on a Royal estate to take the King’s brother to a police station on suspicion of misconduct in a public office on his 66th birthday is shocking, dramatic and marks a major crisis for the Royal Family
The first obstacle preventing an investigation was dismantled after police said they were assessing claims on front page of The Sun last Monday revealing Andy had passed on government emails to Epstein.
Buckingham Palace then said it ‘stands ready’ to help with any police investigation, another road block removed.
When the chief prosecutor said on Sunday that investigators would probe anyone accused ‘without fear or favour,’ politicians, including the PM urged Andrew to tell police what he knows, the path was clear.
Under the sheer weight of the Epstein Files documents, public opinion, and political will the police were under immense pressure to act, and this morning they have.
For days, royal sources have told me they expect Andrew to be questioned.
Last week on The Sun’s show Royal Exclusive we questioned whether we are now entering an ‘era of accountability’.
This week we asked if Andrew and the Royal Family were above the law
In his written statement, King Charles said: “What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation.
“Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.”
This is the correct take. Incredibly the King was not informed of the pending arrest and neither should he have been.
The Epstein disgrace has meandered on for years. We are now truly in the era of accountability.
It is understood the Prince and Princess of Wales were on the Sandringham estate for half-term when the raid took place.
Kate and William’s Anmer Hall home is just six miles from Wood Farm.
They did not comment officially but it is understood they support the King’s words.
Former BBC royal correspondent Peter Hunt said yesterday: “The arrest of the eighth in line to the British throne is seismic.
“Senior royals are now in unchartered waters that they are ill-equipped to navigate.
“They will have to answer questions about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and be held accountable, something which, up until now, has been an alien concept for them.”
Shamed Andrew was smuggled out of Royal Lodge earlier this month after agreeing to hand back his lease with the Crown Estate.
He is expected to move from Wood Farm to nearby Marsh Farm within months.
Thames Valley Police started an investigation after complaints that Andrew committed misconduct in a public office when he allegedly passed sensitive emails to Epstein while working as the UK’s trade envoy in 2010.
Last week the force said it was assessing the case and had spoken to prosecutors.
Hours later, Buckingham Palace said it “stands ready” to help with any investigation.
On Sunday, Stephen Parkinson, director of public prosecutions for England and Wales, said: “It’s my job to enforce the law and I do so without fear or favour, and that is unaffected by the status of the individual concerned.”
Earlier this week we revealed nine police forces were investigating allegations against Andrew.
They include Essex Police, which is looking into claims Epstein’s so-called Lolita Express private jet ferried sex-trafficked women into Stansted Airport’s private terminal.
Andrew has always vehemently denied any wrongdoing.