Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has expressed support for plans to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of royal succession. Albanese conveyed his backing in a letter to UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne, despite being stripped of his royal titles, including “prince,” in October, following pressure over his connections to convicted paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The UK government is reportedly considering legislation to remove him from the succession, following Andrew’s arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office on Thursday. He was released under investigation about 11 hours later and has consistently denied any wrongdoing.
Removing Andrew from the line of succession would require an act of Parliament and the consent of the 14 Commonwealth countries where King Charles III is head of state, including Australia, Canada, Jamaica, and New Zealand.
In his letter, Albanese wrote: “Dear Prime Minister Starmer, in light of recent events concerning Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, I am writing to confirm that my government would agree to any proposal to remove him from the line of royal succession. I agree with His Majesty that the law must now take its full course and there must be a full, fair and proper investigation. These are grave allegations and Australians take them seriously.”
King Charles commented after his brother’s arrest: “What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities.”
A UK government spokesperson confirmed receiving Albanese’s letter and said officials are “considering whether further steps are required in relation to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor,” adding that it would be inappropriate to comment further while the police investigation is ongoing. Darren Jones, chief secretary to the prime minister, told MPs that the government is “not ruling out action in respect of the line of succession at this stage.”
Legislation to remove Andrew would need approval by both Houses of Parliament and royal assent from the King. The last time someone was removed from the line of succession by Parliament was in 1936, when Edward VIII and his descendants were excluded following his abdication.
Buckingham Palace has not publicly commented on the potential legislation. Defence Minister Luke Pollard described removing Andrew from the line of succession as the “right thing to do,” regardless of the outcome of the police investigation. Meanwhile, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage cautioned that Parliament should wait until the investigation concludes to avoid a “trial by media.”
Andrew was arrested at Sandringham, the King’s Norfolk estate, on Thursday morning. Police searches at Sandringham concluded the same day, while further searches continued at Royal Lodge in Windsor over the weekend. Andrew has previously denied any wrongdoing connected to Epstein and has not responded to recent requests for comment following the release of millions of US case files.
