EXCLUSIVE: Andrew Windsor's New Legal Battle 'Sparks Fresh Royal Family Tensions'

Cornered former prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor filed an unprecedented lawsuit challenging his U.K. arrest in the Jeffrey Epstein s---trafficking and influence-peddling investigation, and insiders believe the conniving royal is creating a public spectacle to show King Charles that he will do anything to clear his name and may even stoop to blackmail to force his monarch brother to make his problems disappear, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Sources said Andrew, 66, blindsided Buckingham Palace with the Hail Mary legal maneuver questioning the validity of search warrants in his case, a move described as a "warning shot" across the bow of the royal family because his blue-blooded kin know he could unleash their darkest secrets in a disturbing dirt dossier – if his brother and heir-to-the-throne nephew, Prince William, don't bail him out of trouble.

As RadarOnline.com previously reported, Andrew, whose royal titles were stripped by the king amid public outrage over the ex-Duke of York's chummy friendship with now dead pedophile Epstein, was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office in February.

Epstein investigation files previously released by the U.S. Department of Justice appear to show the king's beleaguered brother knowingly shared confidential information during his trade envoy tenure from 2001 to 2011 with financier Epstein, who died under mysterious circumstances in a New York City jail cell in 2019 while awaiting trial for s-- trafficking.

U.K. investigators scoured Andrew's current and former homes for possible evidence to prove he traded government secrets.

He was grilled under oath for nearly 12 hours before being released without charges.

But the investigation into the allegations, as well as accusations of sexual misconduct by Andrew involving women with possible links to Epstein, continues – despite the former duke's claims of innocence.

A royal expert told RadarOnline.com the new lawsuit is Andrew's way of "fighting back" and "it shows he's trying to do everything in his power to clear his name."

The expert added: "This could also be Andrew's revenge, a warning shot, because the king and Prince William just want him to shut up and go away. Challenging the arrest is a good way for him to say, 'I'm not going anywhere' and 'you must protect me – or else.'"

All of these legal maneuvers can't be cheap, which may be why Andrew recently reportedly put his prized Bentley up for sale for a cool $165,000.

He seems set on clearing his name, and Charles may be forced to help him. "Andrew has a lot of dirt on the king because he's obviously seen enough over the years to have a secret file on his brother and the rest of the family," the expert said.

Andrew's court action came close on the heels of Charles Spencer's memoir Swan Song, about his late sister, Diana, Princess of Wales – and his mudslinging claims about her unhappy marriage to Charles.

Sources said the king has forbidden Andrew from using any cash personally provided to him by Charles to fund his legal fight – but there's talk that the monarch could privately cave to his younger sibling's alleged demands to protect his own battered image.

Speaking of Andrew's suit, royal commentator Hilary Fordwich said: "It's a weird shot across the bow because he's only shooting himself in the foot.

"He's making the situation worse for himself because he is embarrassing the royal family, he's humiliating his brother, he's not grateful for all that is being done for him – he's showing a lack of appreciation for the fact that he's not behind bars. He's basically digging his own ditch."

A palace source observed: "It's almost like he's trying to blackmail the king into helping him because he's demonstrating that he categorically doesn't care about the royal family."