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Mountbatten-Windsor, despite his controversial connections to the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, maintains his position in the line of succession to the British throne. Notably, he has not faced any charges and has consistently denied any allegations of wrongdoing in relation to Epstein.
In an intriguing twist of royal protocol, Mountbatten-Windsor could hypothetically step into the role of regent for Prince George, who is currently third in line for the throne, should both the King and Prince William become incapacitated.
Among those advocating for a reevaluation of his royal status is Rachael Maskell, the Labour MP for York Central. She has been vocal in her demands for the King’s brother to be stripped of his succession rights and his duties as a counsellor of state.
“All of these titles and positions need to be addressed, so we are just left with Andrew the citizen, and a citizen that is fully accountable,” Maskell urged earlier this week, prior to any arrests being made.
However, Robert Hazell, a professor of government and the constitution at University College London, highlights the complexity of such a move. He describes the process of removing Andrew from these positions as “really complicated.”
University College London professor of government and the constitution Robert Hazell said removing Andrew would be “really complicated”.
“It will require legislation, not merely by the British parliament of Westminster, but the other 14 countries around the world, where King Charles is currently their head of state,” he told the BBC in the hours after the arrest.
“Countries known as the realms, countries like Australia, Canada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, half a dozen islands in the Caribbean.”
He said the last time the Law of Succession was changed, to make it gender neutral, took two years “to get everyone’s ducks in a row”.
“I really don’t think either the British government or the governments of those other 14 countries want to spend two years trying to do that,” he said.
“It would be a complete waste of everyone’s time.”
Could Mountbatten-Windsor serve as regent?
In November, UCL 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 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”.
The experts’ FAQ noted the government was likely keen to avoid legislation to remove the former prince, in favour of other legislative priorities.
“A person can only be removed as a counsellor of state by legislation,” it said.
“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.”
A counsellor of state can be called on to represent the monarch if they are temporarily incapacitated but don’t need to be replaced by a regent.
What does it mean for the royal family?
Commentators were divided on what impact the arrest would have on the royal family.
Hazell said he thought people could “distinguish between the individual and the institution”, a line echoed by Charles’ biographer and friend Jonathan Dimbleby.
“If you think of the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Edinburgh, they are all doing their duties,” he said.
“They will individually have feelings about this. I do not see that because one member of the royal family has been arrested … that that brings the institution in this respect.
“On the contrary, it demonstrates that the institution is functioning.”
Graham Smith, chief executive of anti-monarchy group Republic, said Dimbleby’s comments were “absurd” and called on William and Charles to face the media for questioning.
“This is a very, very serious crisis, the worst serious crisis that has hit the monarchy in living memory, in the democratic era,” he told the BBC.
“And you know, we have an institution that is already losing support quite rapidly. We have an institution that most people under the age of 50 are not that bothered about, and now they are exposed to quite serious accusations.
Mountbatten-Windsor had been reported to police by Republic following the release of more than 3 million pages of documents relating to Epstein, who was convicted of soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008.
Those files suggested Mountbatten-Windsor had in 2010 forwarded to Epstein reports about Vietnam, Singapore and other places he had visited on official trips.
The former prince has not responded to the release of the files but has always denied any wrongdoing linked to Epstein.
The arrest follows a ratcheting up of allegations against Mountbatten-Windsor in the wake of the release of the US Justice Department’s document dump.
Many of the recent allegations centred on claims of sexual impropriety, including that alleged by Australian-based Virginia Giuffre, but he was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office, and was yet to be charged.
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