Ex-Prince Andrew Allegedly Thinks King Charles Set Him Up

King Charles III and Prince Andrew both wear suits to attend the Easter Mattins Service at Windsor Castle on April 09, 2023 — (Image credit: Getty Images/Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on February 19, 2026, which just so happened to be the former prince's 66th birthday. After 11 hours of questioning, he was released, and the paparazzi managed to capture a haunting photo of a terrified-looking Andrew in the backseat of a car. Now, one royal reporter has suggested that Andrew believes the photo moment was a "setup."

According to Rob Shuter's Substack, "Andrew is privately seething over the now-iconic image of him slumped in the back of a Range Rover after a day in police custody—and believes someone inside the royal machine tipped off photographers."

A royal source told the outlet, "He thinks this was no accident." The source continued, "Andrew believes The King understands exactly how the press game works—and how powerful one image can be."

Describing Andrew's appearance in the photo, Shuter wrote, "Pale, shaken, visibly rattled—it was a moment many saw as long-awaited accountability."

Newspaper swith King Charles and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's photo that say King: We'll Help Police — "Andrew believes The King understands exactly how the press game works."

Per Shuter, the ex-Duke of York is low-key "convinced" that the palace orchestrated the entire moment. As one source claimed, "For Andrew, it felt like a setup." The source elaborated, "He's convinced someone high up knew he'd be there and made sure the press did too."

According to Shuter's source, Andrew "thinks Charles sacrificed him to protect the institution." As the source explained, "In Andrew's view, the monarchy needed a reckoning moment—and he was it."

Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor attends the Sunday Service at the Royal Chapel of All Saints — "Andrew is privately seething over the now-iconic image."

It's important to note that "palace insiders strongly deny any coordination," according to Shuter, and there's currently no proof of any kind of photographic conspiracy. But it seems clear that ex-Prince Andrew is unhappy about the way he's been portrayed since his arrest, and is looking to assign blame for the photo that's been burned into everyone's retinas.

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Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.