Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested Thursday by a local U.K. police force on suspicion of misconduct in public office, an extraordinary development as the former royal faces intense scrutiny over his ties to late sex predator Jeffrey Epstein.

He is the first senior member of the royal family to face arrest in nearly 380 years.

Thames Valley Police issued a statement announcing that they detained “a man in his sixties from Norfolk” and were “carrying out searches at addresses in Berkshire and Norfolk.”

The police statement did not name the former prince, but the report is consistent with Andrew’s alleged misconduct.

The agency had previously said it was evaluating a complaint that Andrew may have shared confidential information with Epstein.

After about 12 hours in the Aylsham Police Investigation Centre, a black Range Rover came to gather the former prince. The BBC reported that Andrew attempted to lie down in the back seat, but was not able to do so before he could be snapped by a photographer.

Andrew, brother of King Charles III, has been under the microscope over his relationship with Epstein following the latest release of files by the U.S. Department of Justice. He has denied wrongdoing.

Charles said the royal family would cooperate with the investigation.

“What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities,” he said in a statement. “In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation. Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.”

“As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter,” he added. “Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.”

The BBC reported that Charles and Buckingham Palace were not given advance notice of Andrew’s arrest.

The arrest came on the same day as Andrew’s birthday — he had just turned 66.

Andrew was stripped of his royal title in October as more details came to light about his relationship to Epstein. Earlier this month, he moved out of the Royal Lodge in Windsor and relocated to the king’s Sandringham estate. He remains eighth in line to the British throne, and the U.K. government would need to pass a new law to remove him from the line of succession.

Photos appeared to show unmarked police cars driving near Sandringham Estate on Thursday morning.

The latest trove of Epstein files released by the DOJ suggested that Andrew gave Epstein confidential information in 2010 and 2011, including reports of trips to Singapore, Hong Kong and Vietnam, and a confidential brief detailing investment opportunities in the reconstruction of Helmand Province in Afghanistan, from his official work as U.K. trade envoy, the BBC reported.

On top of evaluating that information, Thames Valley Police previously said it was assessing allegations that a woman was trafficked by Epstein to the U.K. to have sex with Andrew, according to The Times of London.

Eight other police forces are probing allegations made in the Epstein files or looking for more information, The Times of London noted. The U.K.’s National Crime Agency is also assisting those investigations.

This marks the first time a senior member of the royal family has been arrested since 1647. If Andrew is formally charged with misconduct in public office, he could face a maximum sentence of life in prison.

King Charles I was arrested in 1647 during the English Civil War and beheaded two years later after being found guilty of treason, per The Guardian.

Princess Anne, Andrew’s sister, was convicted of a criminal offense after pleading guilty to failing to restrain one of her dogs from biting two children in 2002, a year after she was fined for speeding, Reuters noted. She did not face arrest as a result of the offense.

In an interview with BBC Breakfast taped ahead of Andrew’s arrest, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said “nobody is above the law” when asked if the former prince should turn himself over to the police.

Meanwhile, the family of Virginia Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most prominent accusers, welcomed Andrew’s arrest.

“He was never a prince. For survivors everywhere, Virginia did this for you,” Sky and Amanda Roberts and Danny and Lanette Wilson said in a statement.

Giuffre, who died by suicide in Australia last April, sued Andrew in 2015, alleging he had sexually assaulted her on three separate occasions when she was a teenager.

Andrew has consistently denied the allegation but agreed to pay Giuffre an undisclosed amount to settle the case.

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