Palace will not cover expenses for Prince Andrew's misconduct cases - King Charles decides

King Charles III of the United Kingdom has forbidden his younger brother, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, from using his funds to pursue a legal battle against the police and the courts. The former Duke has taken legal action against police officers who arrested him and raided his homes last February.

He is asking a High Court judge to declare these raids and searches unlawful. Andrew has launched a judicial review against decisions made by Thames Valley Police and the Old Bailey court. King Charles provides Andrew with a private income, but palace sources have clarified that these funds should not be used for a judicial review. On February 19, Andrew's 66th birthday, police searched his cottage at Sandringham and his former home, Royal Lodge, in Windsor.

Subsequently, the royal was arrested in February and detained and questioned for nearly 12 hours on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Emails had suggested that he shared government information with his Wall Street friend and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during his time as the UK's trade representative. Additionally, in May, Thames Valley Police further expanded their investigation to look into allegations of sexual misconduct. However, Andrew denies these allegations, stating that he has committed no wrongdoing.

Meanwhile, a controversial situation has arisen as the police have made a strong request to the court to maintain secrecy, preventing documents related to this case from being made public. Senior Judge Justice Hilliard is scheduled to hear this request on Thursday. This is considered the first instance in British history since the trial of King Charles I in 1649 that a royal has challenged the legality of a criminal case against them. No charges have been officially filed yet in connection with this trial, which is expected not to be open to the public.