Former Prince Andrew files a legal action to quash warrants that led to searches of his residence

LONDON (AP) — The former Prince Andrew has filed a legal action challenging the warrants that authorized searches at two of his homes earlier this year as British police investigated allegations related to his links to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

A judicial spokesperson confirmed that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor had filed a claim with the High Court in London and a hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

The Daily Telegraph previously reported that Mountbatten-Windsor had asked the court to determine whether Thames Valley Police acted lawfully in searching the former prince's homes near Windsor Castle and on King Charles III's Sandringham estate.

The searches were conducted in February when Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office following allegations that the former prince shared sensitive information with Epstein during his time as the U.K.’s trade envoy.

Police questioned Mountbatten-Windsor for 11 hours before he was released under investigation, meaning he was neither charged nor exonerated.

It was the first time in nearly four centuries that a senior British royal was placed under arrest, underscoring how deference to the monarchy has eroded in recent years.

Thames Valley Police said Monday that its investigation was continuing, even as it confirmed that the department was involved in legal proceedings about the search warrants. A department spokesman declined further comment while those proceedings are underway.

The allegations against Mountbatten-Windsor came to light when the U.S. Justice Department released millions of pages of documents from its investigation into sex trafficking by Epstein and his connections to a network of wealthy, powerful men around the world.

Mountbatten-Windsor's relationship with Epstein has been a source of embarrassment to the royal family for more than a decade and forced him to give up royal duties in 2019.

But as further revelations began to leak out of the U.S. investigation last year, the king moved to insulate the monarchy from the fallout by stripping his younger brother of his princely title.

After Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested, Charles departed from the “never complain, never explain” approach of his late mother, Queen Elizabeth, and took the unusual step of issuing a statement on the investigation.

“Let me state clearly: the law must take its course,’’ he said at the time. “As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter.’’

FILE - Britain's Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, looks round as he leaves after attending the Easter Matins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England, April 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)

STOCKHOLM (AP) — The Nobel Prize in medicine was awarded Monday to three scientists working on the mechanisms the brain uses to switch on, or off, the activity of individual nerve cells.

Karl Deisseroth, 54, Peter Hegemann, 71, and Georg Nagel, 73, have carried out research into light-gated ion channels and optogenetics. They are based at universities in Germany and the United States.

The Nobel committee lauded their work, writing on X that the method “is now being used in laboratories around the world to reveal the brain’s mysteries.”

The Nobel Assembly said Deisseroth is based at Stanford University in California, while Hegemann is at Humboldt University in Berlin and Nagel at the University of Würzburg in Germany.

Thomas Perlmann, the secretary of the medicine committee, said he was able to reach all three winners by phone Monday.

The prize was announced at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, kicking off Nobels week.

The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million).

Last year, the prize went to three scientists researching the immune system.

Monday's medicine prize is followed by the physics prize on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday and literature on Thursday.

After Friday’s peace prize is awarded, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences will be announced on Oct. 12.

The prize money this year is 12 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million), whether for an individual, small group of laureates or organization.

Dazio reported from Berlin.

AP Nobel Prizes: https://apnews.com/hub/nobel-prizes

FILE - U.S. scientist Karl Deisseroth, professor of Departments of Bioengineering and Psychiatry at Stanford University, shows his trophy for "Life Sciences" field during the Japan Prize presentation ceremony Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko, File)

FILE - A close-up view of a Nobel Prize medal at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Md., Dec. 8, 2020. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)