--- title: He Is The First. He Should Not Be The Last. description: A former prince arrested on his birthday. Millions of pages naming the powerful everywhere. This should be the moment that changes everything. author: Dr Marina Nani (Editor-in-Chief) date: 2026-02-19T18:20:37.000Z updated: 2026-09-16T15:04:27.957Z canonical: https://richwoman.co/article/he-is-the-first-he-should-not-be-the-last image: https://cdn.nanimediahouse.com/prince-andrew-virginia-giuffre-ghislaine-maxwell-2001.webp categories: Royals & Society content_type: Opinion region: England publication: Rich Woman Magazine --- 13 hours and 40 minutes. This is how long did take us to listen to the audio book written by Virginia Roberts Giuffre: [Nobody’s Girl: ](https://amzn.to/4cAAlK7)A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice. The abuse of girls and women by powerful men is not a modern crisis, is a “cultural constant”. It is a structural feature of recorded history, documented across every civilisation from antiquity to the present day. There are legal records and laws like Lex Julia in the 3rd century CE beginning to define rape as a crime. ***How long does it take to arrest a man in power?*** Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested this morning on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Thames Valley Police confirmed the arrest and said they were searching properties in Berkshire and Norfolk. The charge carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Virginia Giuffre’s family said something today that millions of people around the world have been waiting years to hear: ‘Our broken hearts have been lifted at the news that no one is above the law.’ He is the first. He should not be the last. ## What the files actually describe Yesterday, UN human rights experts issued a statement about the Epstein files that should have led every front page in the world. They said the documents describe what may amount to crimes against humanity. Not white-collar misconduct. Not poor judgement. Crimes against humanity. The same legal category used for the worst atrocities in modern history. The experts identified evidence of sexual slavery, trafficking of women and girls, reproductive violence, enforced disappearance, torture and femicide. They described a ‘global criminal enterprise’ built on what they called ‘supremacist beliefs, racism, corruption, extreme misogyny, and the commodification and dehumanisation of women and girls from different parts of the world.’ [The files released by the US Department of Justice](https://richwoman.co/article/epstein-reading-room-tour-david-garrett) contain more than three million pages, 180,000 images and 2,000 videos. Young women and girls were moved across borders, exploited and silenced. This was not one man’s crimes. This was a system, and it had participants in some of the most powerful positions on earth. ## A royal in custody Andrew’s arrest came after documents showed he allegedly forwarded confidential UK government reports to Epstein while serving as a trade envoy in 2010 (including intelligence on Southeast Asia and Afghanistan’s Helmand province). Thames Valley Police also confirmed they are assessing information about the possible trafficking of a young woman for sex with the former prince. King Charles responded with a statement signed ‘Charles R’ rather than through the usual palace channels. ‘The law must take its course,’ he wrote. Commentators are already asking whether the monarchy can survive this (the institution had already stripped Andrew of his title and removed him from [royal ceremonies](https://richwoman.co/article/when-family-gatherings-meet-living-history-why-royal-ceremonies-still-matter-in-modern-britain) in 2025). But whether the Crown endures is, honestly, the smallest question here. ## This is bigger than any country The Epstein files do not belong to Britain or America. They describe a network that crossed every border that mattered. The people named in those pages include politicians, billionaires, tech founders and public figures from across the world. Six names were read into the US congressional record from unredacted documents. Hundreds more appeared on a Department of Justice list sent to Congress days ago. The files have already triggered resignations and investigations in multiple countries. A recent poll found nearly seven in 10 people believe the Epstein files prove the powerful are rarely held accountable. The UN experts were blunter: ‘No one is too wealthy or too powerful to be above the law.’ They demanded that every competent court (national and international) pursue criminal accountability for everyone implicated. ## This has to be the trigger If a member of the British royal family can be arrested, investigated and face life in prison, then there is no longer any excuse for inaction anywhere else. Not for the countries whose officials appear in those files. Not for the prosecutors who have had access to this evidence for years. Not for the institutions that looked away because the names were too big and the consequences too uncomfortable. The people implicated in these documents are not footnotes. Many of them shaped policy, ran companies and sat across from world leaders. Some still do. The UN described what happened to these women and girls as torture and sexual slavery. Those are not words used lightly under international law. Virginia Giuffre spent years being [doubted and dismissed](https://richwoman.co/article/changing-the-guard-why-we-still-love-watching-the-king-s-life-guard). She was not the only one. The survivors whose names we do not know (the young women moved across borders, the girls whose lives were treated as currency) deserve more than one arrest in one country. ## What happens now Andrew has consistently denied all allegations. The investigation is active and police have cautioned against publications that could risk contempt of court. But whatever the courts decide, today changed something that cannot be undone. A former royal was arrested on his birthday in front of the entire world. The UN has called what happened to these women and girls potential crimes against humanity. The evidence is public. The names are known. The question now is not whether this was wrong. Everyone knows it was. The question is whether the rest of the world has the courage to do what Britain did this morning. Because Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest is only the beginning. It has to be. ## In case you were wondering… **Q: Can Prince Andrew be prosecuted in the US?** US authorities could still pursue charges independently. The Metropolitan Police dropped their own review in 2021, but American prosecutors are not bound by that decision. Extradition remains legally possible, though extraordinarily complex. With the UN now calling for prosecution in all competent courts (national and international), the pressure on every jurisdiction to act has intensified significantly. Virginia Giuffre’s legal team has not ruled out further action across the Atlantic. **Q: Why was King Charles heckled recently?** During a visit to Clitheroe earlier this month, a member of the public confronted Charles about Andrew’s ties to Epstein. It was one of several public moments reflecting growing anger that the royal family had been too slow to act. The heckling captured what millions already felt: that silence in the face of these revelations looked like complicity. Today’s arrest did not come from nowhere. It came from years of pressure from survivors, journalists and ordinary people who refused to let the story disappear.