Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor faces police investigation into ‘alleged inappropriate behaviour at Royal Ascot’

Police investigating Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor are looking into an allegation that he behaved inappropriately towards a woman at Royal Ascot, according to a report.

The alleged incident is said to have happened at the annual five-day racing event in Berkshire in 2002, according to the Sunday Times.

On Friday, Thames Valley police (TVP) indicated that their investigation into Mountbatten-Windsor was wider than many had previously believed, and also covered sexual misconduct. He was arrested on his 66th birthday in February and questioned under criminal caution on suspicion of misconduct in public office, related to his role as a British trade envoy. Following the Sunday Times report, a spokesperson for the force said of the inquiry into misconduct in public office: “We cannot go into specifics of the investigation, but we are following all reasonable lines of inquiry.”

Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested in February after allegations arising from documents released by the US Department of Justice that he passed information to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. On Friday, TVP asked witnesses to contact them if they believed they had information about alleged sexual misconduct, corruption, fraud or the sharing of confidential information involving the king’s brother. The appeal came amid concern that people who may have information about criminal offences wrongly think detectives are interested in only the alleged sharing of confidential information.