london
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Most of the time, the country’s top newspapers display various photos on their front pages. But on Friday, the images on Britain’s front pages were all the same.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is pictured leaving a police station on his 66th birthday. He was hunched over in the back seat of the car, looking shocked.
On Thursday, Mountbatten-Windsor became the first member of the British royal family to be arrested in modern history, spending more than 10 hours in police custody at a train station in the small British town of Aylesham, about an hour away from his new home at Sandringham’s royal residence.
“The photography gods were on our side yesterday,” said Reuters senior photographer Phil Noble, who took the incredible photos.
Noble, who is based in northern England, rushed about five hours south to Norfolk after news of the arrest broke on Thursday morning.
Through guesswork and some good sources, his two-man team zeroed in on what was likely the correct police station. Thames Valley Police Station has around 20 police stations where the former prince could have been taken, so he had to wait and see.
“This was probably the fourth or fifth police station Reuters visited that night,” Noble said. “When I arrived, there was nothing out of the ordinary. There were no cars. There was no activity.”
“Honestly, right before he arrived, I was leaving to go back to the hotel…and my colleague Marissa messaged me and said, ‘Look, two cars just arrived, so I think you should come back,'” Nobel candidly said in a video explaining how the shooting came about.
And then the race actually began. “I spun the car back and within a minute of coming back the shutters of the police station garage went up and two cars took off. He (Mountbatten-Windsor) was in one of them,” a Reuters photographer said.
Noble explained that there are many variables in a stakeout photo. Part of the job is preparation, skills, and experience. It also requires a willingness to stand on an English country road in the dark for hours at a time, not knowing if anything of note will happen.
“Maybe 30 minutes before I took the photo, I had taken some test shots of other cars leaving the police station, so I had a rough idea…but it was probably the camera settings,” Noble, who has worked at Reuters for more than 20 years, explained. Previously, he worked in photography for the British Press Association and the Manchester Evening News.
“But still, luck is more important than judgment when the car comes out. You have to try to guess where he is sitting, which side of the car he is on. Is he in the front? Is he in the back? Will the flash be reused in time?”
According to Reuters, he shot six frames in total. Two were blank, one was out of focus, and two showed police officers. But one photo captured that special moment.
“The accuracy of any car shot is really, really low,” he added. “Last night was one of those pinch moments where you look behind the camera and you’re tired, it’s been a long day… you can’t believe he’s there.”
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was released late on Thursday night “pending investigation”. Police have not disclosed how the former prince was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, but he served as Britain’s trade envoy for 10 years starting in 2001, but resigned in 2011 after coming under fire over his relationship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The former prince has not publicly responded to the latest allegations, which emerged after the US Department of Justice released millions of documents related to Epstein. Mr Mountbatten-Windsor has repeatedly denied any allegations of wrongdoing, saying he never witnessed or suspected Mr Epstein of any of the acts he is accused of.
Asked about the photo, Noble said that while it’s not a work of art, it’s definitely one of the most newsworthy photos he’s ever taken.
“Best photo? Probably not. You know, this one shot a guy out the back of the windshield at night,” Noble said with a little laugh. “Is it the best photo I’ve ever taken? No. Is it up there with one of the most important photos? 100 percent.”
