Emily Maitlis 'stunned' by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest

Emily Maitlis has declared herself "stunned" by Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest.

The former Newsnight anchor, who conducted a bombshell 2019 interview with the disgraced ex-royal, described Andrew's arrest as a "crisis" for the monarchy.

"Honestly, I am stunned. I just have to say this doesn't happen in our country," Maitlis told Australia's ABC Radio National on Friday morning.

"It is virtually unheard of. The last time a royal was arrested was King Charles I in 1647, and he was beheaded, and that was briefly the end of the monarchy. So to say that this is a crisis moment, I think, doesn't begin to cover it."

Maitlis added it would be difficult for King Charles III, 77, to avoid some level of accountability for his 66-year-old brother's alleged actions.

"Prince Andrew, ex-Prince Andrew, remains eighth in line to the throne," she pointed out. "He still lives on a royal estate. So whichever way you spin this, this does go back to the most senior institution in the entire country."

Maitlis, who now co-hosts The News Agents podcast, argued the former royal's arrest this week, over allegations of misconduct in public office, had arisen because of his repeated mentions in the "Epstein files" - tranches of documents released by America's Department of Justice detailing various investigations into the late, convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.

"What has happened now has happened almost entirely as a result of what we're seeing from the Epstein files," she noted.

"Some people have been saying why did it take six years to get to this point? ... And I think for a lot of people in this country, they felt, well, 'I don't understand why that's taken six years'. And for other people, it's all seemed to happen incredibly quickly."