Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the King's brother, was arrested on Thursday at his Sandringham Estate home in Norfolk on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Reuters photographer Phil Noble, who captured the moment, described it as "more luck than judgement". Noble drove six hours from his Manchester home to Norfolk after news broke of the arrest.
Noble usually captures pictures for various stories and had been covering floods and football fixtures earlier in the week. He described Thursday's event as "a proper old school news day".
Police Response
Police arrived at Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's home in unmarked cars at about 08:00 GMT on Thursday. He was taken to a Norfolk police station for questioning on his 66th birthday.
Following a tip-off, Noble headed to the police station in Aylsham, where he waited for six hours before Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's cars arrived.
Photographing the Event
Noble took six pictures, with one showing a shocked Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor leaning back in a car seat. The image has secured front-page coverage worldwide.
Noble said it was "surreal" to see his photo becoming the defining image of a major news story. He attributed the success to "more luck than judgement".
Investigation Underway
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested in relation to his time as the UK's trade representative between 2001 and 2011. The BBC reports that the detention follows previously-reported claims of shared official documents with the late financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing in his associations with Epstein. He was released under investigation after spending the day at a police station in Norfolk.
