Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest: What happened when a royal was last tried?

The former Prince Andrew was arrested and held for hours by British police Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his links to Jeffrey Epstein.

The last time a senior British royal was arrested was almost 400 years ago during the reign of King Charles I that saw a growing power struggle between the crown and Parliament.

After the king attempted to arrest lawmakers in the House of Commons in 1642, hostilities erupted into the English Civil War, which ended with victory for the parliamentary forces of Oliver Cromwell.

Charles I was arrested, tried, convicted of high treason and beheaded in 1649.

While Andrew’s arrest in modern times cannot be compared with the trial and execution of Charles I centuries ago, what followed his ancestor’s death has renewed interest in the royal family’s past following the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.

His distant ancestor’s fate was far harsher. After England’s Civil War, Parliament tried and executed the king in 1649, an act overseen by Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell. When the monarchy was restored in 1660, royalists exacted revenge on those who had killing King Charles I. The retribution was carried out by his son King Charles II.

Cromwell, already dead, was posthumously tried for treason, his corpse exhumed, hanged in chains, and beheaded. 

His severed head was displayed on a spike above Westminster Hall for years, becoming a warning against rebellion before eventually disappearing into private collections.

However, Charles III seems to have no intention of opposing any legal action against his brother as as he has assured the nation,  "They (police) have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation."

He said, "Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.