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Mountbatten-Windsor, currently eighth in line for the throne, holds a position that technically allows for the possibility of stepping in as regent or assuming some of the King’s responsibilities. However, Buckingham Palace has effectively dispelled any notion of this happening prematurely.
In a recent letter, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese communicated with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, voicing his support for the potential removal of the former Duke of York from the royal succession.
“Following the recent developments involving Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, I wish to express that my government would back any initiative to exclude him from the line of royal succession,” Albanese stated.
He further added, “I concur with His Majesty’s stance that the legal process must unfold thoroughly, with a comprehensive and fair investigation.”
Albanese underscored the gravity of the situation, highlighting that Australians regard these allegations with utmost seriousness.
The support of Albanese and the leaders of the other Commonwealth countries who retain the UK’s reigning monarch as their head of state is essential to any plan to remove him.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest followed years of allegations over his links with convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019, but the accusation at the heart was that the royal shared confidential trade information with the disgraced financier when he was a trade envoy for the UK.Â
He was released on Thursday night (early Friday AEDT) after spending about 11 hours in custody. He remained under investigation, meaning he was neither charged nor exonerated.
Emails released last month by the US Department of Justice appeared to show him sharing reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore, and sending Epstein a confidential brief on investment opportunities in Afghanistan.
He has consistently denied any wrongdoing in his association with Epstein but has not commented on the most recent allegations that have emerged with the release of the Epstein files.
In the wake of the arrest, UK Defence Minister Luke Pollard told the BBC that wiping his chances of being a successor to the throne was the “right thing to do” regardless of the outcome.
He told BBC radio at the weekend that the UK government had been working alongside Buckingham Palace to stop Mountbatten-Windsor from “potentially being a heartbeat away from the throne”.
UK media quoted unnamed royal sources saying Buckingham Palace would not oppose the move.
In November, University College London said if the worst were to happen to King Charles and then Prince William, Prince Harry would be next in line to be named as regent to Prince George, but only if he returned to the UK.
Were he to refuse, Mountbatten-Windsor would be next in line, although he was “unlikely to be considered suitable following his fall from grace”.
“A person can only be removed as a counsellor of state by legislation,” it said in an FAQ.
“Because seven people can now be called upon to act as counsellors of state, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is very unlikely to be called upon again.”
– Reported with Associated Press
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