Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's Pricey Legal War Raises Financial Questions — as Cash-Strapped Ex-Royal Fights Police Search Warrants
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's battle for his search warrant review is a costly one.
Oct. 6 2026, Updated 3:15 p.m. ET
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s costly fight to challenge warrants tied to his February arrest has raised fresh questions over how the cash-strapped former prince is bankrolling his legal battle, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
His lawyers are now fighting to have the search warrants Thames Valley Police executed in relation to his arrest thrown out, but a top British defense lawyer says even getting the chance to make the challenge in court is rare.
'If You Have Money, Then You've Got Access to the Law'
Questions have been raised about how Andrew got the money to fund his legal fight.
"I've certainly spoken over the years about the two, three- or four-tier justice system that we have in the U.K., and I guess it's the same in the States. If you have money, then you've got access to the law. If you haven't got money, you do not really have access, and that's the big problem," Marcus Johnstone, a veteran defense attorney and managing editor of England's PCD Solicitors, told host Tom Sykes on The Royalist podcast on Monday, October 5.
"So, in theory, although anybody could take a judicial review or request a judicial review, it is expensive to take forward, and very difficult to get any kind of public funding for that. So, it needs to be paid for privately," Johnstone pointed out.
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor Allegedly Cash-Strapped
Virginia Giuffre's posthumous memoir claims about Andrew finally caused King Charles to strip his brother of all royal titles and privileges.
Andrew’s finances have reportedly taken a major hit since his brother, King Charles III, stripped him of his remaining royal titles and privileges in October 2025 and booted him from his longtime home at Royal Lodge.
The fallout came amid renewed scrutiny of Andrew’s ties to Jeffrey Epstein trafficking victim Virginia Giuffre, who weeks earlier detailed their alleged encounters when she was a minor in her posthumous memoir, Nobody’s Girl.
Andrew's Lawyers Challenging Warrants in His Arrest
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor allegedly passed along confidential U.K. trade information to Jeffrey Epstein, resulting in his arrest and searh warrant execution.
The disgraced ex-duke then suffered his most serious blow yet. He was hauled off to jail on February 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office for allegedly forwarding Epstein financial information while working as the UK trade envoy from 2001 through 2011.
Some of the emails were revealed in the U.S. Department of Justice's January 30 documents dump. The cache allegedly contained sensitive government material Andrew had received while representing Britain overseas, ranging from dispatches about his official visits to Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, and China to a “confidential” briefing flagging gold and uranium ventures in Afghanistan as possible investment opportunities.
Thames Valley Police descended on Andrew’s current bolthole, Wood Farm on the Sandringham Estate, as well as his former Royal Lodge home, hunting for evidence linked to the alleged misconduct.
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Andrew's Ability to Finance Warrant Review Fight in Question
Questions remain if King Charles is helping finance brother Photo of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor's legal fight for the warrant review.
Johnstone noted that Andrew receiving a judicial review of the warrants was extremely rare.
"It's just that if you can afford to pay it, then you go for it. But if you can't afford it, it very rarely happens. I used to do judicial reviews some years ago, and we just don't really see them very often now because they are expensive to take forward, and most clients don't have the finances to fund such a case," he shared.
Sykes noted that questions about how Andrew was paying for the review raised obvious red flags.
"Immediately, journalists were asking Buckingham Palace whether the King was funding this. They kind of conceded that the King does give money to Andrew, but made it clear they didn't want their money used to pay for the judicial review," he explained.
The king is understood to give his brother a hefty annual stipend to cover his living expenses, including 24/7 security and a private chef, but Andrew can spend the money as he sees fit.
Sykes also observed that Charles needs to be especially careful about being dragged into his brother’s legal battle, given the monarch’s unique constitutional position. “It’s his seal that hangs over the door of the courtroom," he noted, warning the King "needs to be very careful that he doesn’t get drawn into this."
