The most recent royal to be arrested is Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor , formerly known as Prince Andrew, who was detained on 19 February 2026 in the UK on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Quick Scoop: What Happened?

  • Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor was taken into custody by UK police on the morning of his 66th birthday, at Sandringham in Norfolk.
  • This is being described as the first arrest of a senior British royal in modern history.
  • The allegations are linked to his conduct in his former official role and follow years of scrutiny over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein.
  • At this stage, police are still deciding whether to charge him, release him under investigation, or take no further action.

Many reports note how unprecedented it is for someone so close to the monarch to be formally arrested in the contemporary era.

“Last royal to be arrested” – Historically

If you frame the question across all of British history , the “last royal to be arrested” before Andrew was King Charles I , who was captured in 1647 during the English Civil War by parliamentary forces.

  • Charles I was held in custody for about two years and then tried and executed for high treason in 1649.
  • For centuries, that 1647 arrest was cited as the last time a British monarch or senior royal had been taken into custody by state authorities.

So you’ll see two slightly different answers depending on context:

  • Modern era / latest news: Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor is the last royal to be arrested.
  • Before 2026, historically: King Charles I, arrested in 1647 and executed in 1649.

Mini Timeline

  1. 1647 – King Charles I captured and imprisoned by parliamentary forces.
  1. 1649 – Charles I executed after being convicted of high treason.
  1. 2002 – Princess Anne fined over a dog‑attack incident (legal trouble, but she was not arrested).
  1. 19 Feb 2026 – Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor arrested, the first senior royal arrest in modern British history.

Forum & Trending Context

  • Reddit threads and social posts are actively debating whether Andrew’s case finally proves that “no one is above the law,” while others argue that royal status still shields him compared with ordinary defendants.
  • Several explainers and opinion pieces highlight the historical parallel to Charles I and how unusually rare royal arrests have been over the last 350+ years.

TL;DR:
The last royal to be arrested is Andrew Mountbatten‑Windsor (formerly Prince Andrew) in February 2026; before him, you have to go back to King Charles I’s arrest in 1647 to find a comparable historical precedent.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.