High Court Rules Police Raids on Royal Properties Unlawful

High Court rules police raids on royal properties unlawful. Legal battle over search warrants continues.

October 8, 2026 One Min Read

POLICY WIRE — London, United Kingdom — A High Court has ruled that police raids on the residences of former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor were unlawful, citing a critical error in the application for search warrants.

The former Duke of York, who was not present at the hearing, filed a legal challenge against Thames Valley Police over the validity of the warrants issued by the Old Bailey in February. The warrants allowed officers to search his Sandringham Estate home and his former Windsor residence, Royal Lodge, before his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

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The court found that the application for the warrants contained a “significant error” that rendered the searches and seized materials unlawful. While both the former prince and the police agreed on the unlawfulness, the force is now seeking to retain evidence collected during the raids, leading to a private hearing scheduled for 2027 to determine if the material can be legally kept.

Reporting by Policy-Wire (PW)

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