Australia backs removal of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from line of succession
The former duke of York is still eighth in line to the throne and an Act of Parliament would be required to remove Andrew and prevent him from ever becoming king
Australia's Prime Minister has joined calls for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to be removed from the line of succession following the royal's arrest.
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Australian PM Anthony Albanese has written to Sir Keir Starmer to tell him he would back plans to remove the former prince from the line of succession.
Despite being stripped of his title last year, the former Duke of York is still eighth in line to the throne and an Act of Parliament would be required to remove Andrew and prevent him from ever becoming king.
It is understood that ministers are considering introducing legislation to remove Andrew from the line of royal succession once the police investigation into alleged misconduct in public office concludes.
Mr 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."
Any changes to the line of succession would require the agreement of other countries which share the UK monarch, including Australia, Canada and Jamaica.
Andrew was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of misconduct in public office, spending 11 hours in custody on his 66th birthday, after allegations he shared sensitive information with Jeffrey Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy.
Police searches of Andrew’s former home, Royal Lodge in Windsor, Berkshire, took place over the weekend and are expected to continue into Monday.
The former prince has denied any wrongdoing over his links to convicted sex offender Epstein, but has not directly responded to the latest allegations.
In a video-taped interview under oath in 2009, Epstein’s former Florida housekeeper Juan Alessi said Andrew would have “daily massages” when he visited.
Calls have grown from a range of public figures for a wider probe into his past dealings with the disgraced financier.
Elsewhere, retired civil servants have said Andrew used taxpayers’ money for massages and excessive travel costs during his time as the UK’s trade envoy.
One ex-civil servant said they refused to pay to cover the costs of a massage for Andrew, but was overruled by senior staff: “I thought it was wrong… I’d said we mustn’t pay it, but we ended up paying it anyway.”
A former Whitehall official, who oversaw finances, separately said they had “absolutely no doubt” about the authenticity of the claim after having seen similar expenses for his overseas trips.