Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor set to lose another honour as former prince remains in exile
A decision on stripping Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor of his Freedom of the City of London will be made as “a matter of urgency”, the City of London Corporation said, as the corporation has approved a process to remove the honour from recipients itself.
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The City of London Corporation (CLC), the body which administers the ancient city centre, said on Thursday its court of common council, the organisation’s main decision-making body, had approved a process enabling the honour to be removed from individuals.
Elected members approved an act of common council, giving the court the power to remove a freedom.
The decision followed a detailed legal review which concluded that there was previously no effective lawful mechanism to do so.
Under the new process, each case would be considered on its individual circumstances and in accordance with the law, the CLC said.
The person concerned would be informed and given opportunities to make written representations before a final decision is taken.
The new process will now be undertaken for the disgraced former prince Andrew, after the corporation instructed officers to pursue steps to lawfully remove the honour.
In May, CLC criticised Andrew for failing to surrender his Freedom of the City of London “despite being asked to do so”.
Andrew inherited the freedom in 2012 by patrimony, as the child of a freeman.
It is one of the disgraced former prince’s final honours.
CLC’s policy chairman, Chris Hayward, said: “Today, we have approved a lawful and effective process for considering whether the Freedom of the City of London should be removed from an individual.
“This ensures that future decisions are taken fairly, transparently, and in accordance with the law, with appropriate safeguards in place for all parties involved.
“The process will now be followed as a matter of urgency to ensure that a decision is made in relation to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s Freedom.”