At a glance…
- Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has been summoned to give evidence in a civil fraud case involving a £750,000 payment he received in 2019. He is not a defendant.
- The trial is expected to begin in November 2026, with Andrew potentially giving evidence in December.
- If he appears, it could mark another extraordinary moment in royal history, coming just months after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office on his 66th birthday.
The legal troubles for the disgraced former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, continue with the latest news that he has been called to give evidence in a fraud case. The case is separate from his arrest on 19 February 2026.
This fraud case centres on a financial dispute between Turkish millionaire Nebahat Evyap Isbilen and her former financial adviser, Selman Turk. In the case, Nebahat claims that Selman misappropriated tens of millions of pounds from her. And here is where the former prince gets involved. In November 2019, on the day following his infamous interview with the BBC, Andrew received a £750,000 payment arranged by Selman. Nebahat alleges she was misled about the payment’s purpose.
Selman maintains Nebahat authorised the payment, hoping Andrew could use his connections to help her imprisoned husband. To be clear, Andrew is not a defendant in this case, and he has not been accused of any wrongdoing. In fact, he repaid the £750,000 (about AU $1.47 million) in 2021, according to AP News. He is a witness.
The trial is expected to begin during the week of 16 November 2026, with Andrew’s testimony reportedly anticipated around 15 December. However, Andrew can apply to have the witness summons set aside, meaning his appearance is not yet guaranteed.
If the former prince does go ahead, he could be the first royal since 1870 to give evidence. That case was when the future King Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, was summoned to give evidence in a divorce case involving Sir Charles Mordaunt. Of course, technically Andrew has been stripped of all his royal titles, so he isn’t even technically a royal anymore – despite his brother being the king.
As mentioned, on his 66th birthday, 19 February 2026, Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office. It was also a historic moment. He became the first senior member of the British royal family to be arrested in modern times. Some historical comparisons go back almost 400 years, to the arrest of King Charles I in 1647.
“For the Royal family, this is a crisis with long-term ramifications possibly greater than the abdication,” said The Weekly‘s royal correspondent Paola Totaro at the time. “However, King Charles’s announcement that investigating authorities have his full and wholehearted support will provide a message globally – and perhaps particularly to the United States – that nobody, not even a prince, is beyond the law and that UK authorities will do their job without fear or favour.”
As mentioned, he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, following revelations in the Jeffrey Epstein files suggesting he may have shared confidential government information with Epstein while serving as Britain’s special trade envoy between 2001 and 2011. He was questioned for approximately 11 hours before being released without charge. He has denied wrongdoing and has since said he will undertake legal action against the Thames Valley Police.
