Palace would not oppose move to remove Andrew from succession
Police continue searches at Mountbatten-Windsor’s former Windsor home after arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office
Buckingham Palace will not oppose plans to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the royal line of succession, the Guardian understands, as police confirmed a search of his former Windsor home would continue over the weekend.
Royal sources indicated on Saturday that King Charles would not stand in the way of parliament if it wanted to ensure the former prince could never ascend to the throne.
Mountbatten-Windsor, who was arrested this week on suspicion of misconduct in a public office, remains eighth in line to succeed the king, despite being stripped of all of his royal titles and relieved of any official duties.
The arrest came after the US Department of Justice released files suggesting Mountbatten-Windsor passed confidential government information to the convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and other contacts while acting as a UK trade envoy.
Mountbatten-Windsor ceased to be a working royal in 2019 after a catastrophic Newsnight interview in which he refused to apologise for his continued friendship with Epstein.
In 2022, he paid a reported £12m settlement to the late Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre, who said she was trafficked to Mountbatten-Windsor by the disgraced financier. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied Giuffre’s allegations and the payment was made without any admission of liability.
He was stripped of his remaining royal titles late last year as more information about his links to Epstein emerged, but retains his place in the line of succession, behind Prince William and his three children and Prince Harry and his two children.
Mountbatten-Windsor, who was arrested and questioned on his 66th birthday on Thursday, is still officially a counsellor of state – a member of the group of royals who could stand in for the king if he is ill or abroad. However, it is understood that this is highly unlikely to happen in practice, as only working royals are asked to deputise.
Removing him from the line of succession would require fresh legislation, which would need the support of MPs and peers, as well as royal assent from the king. It would also have to be backed by the 14 Commonwealth countries where the king is head of state.
Ministers have suggested that the government has already made overtures to the palace about plans for a law change once the police investigation has concluded. Luke Pollard, a defence minister, told BBC Radio 4 that the government had “absolutely” been working with the palace on its plans to stop Mountbatten-Windsor from “potentially being a heartbeat away from the throne”.
He said this was something he hoped would “enjoy cross-party support” but added that “it’s right that this is something that only happens when the police investigation concludes”.
James Murray, the chief secretary to the Treasury, told Sky News: “The government is considering any further steps that might be required, and we’re not ruling anything out. But at this stage, it would be inappropriate for us to go any further because there is a live police investigation under way.”
Ed Davey said the Liberal Democrats would support any legislation to remove Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession, saying any ascension to the throne would be “intolerable”.
Mountbatten-Windsor is the first royal to be arrested in more than 350 years, since Charles I was taken prisoner after his defeat by parliamentary forces in 1647 in the English civil war. He was found guilty of treason and executed two years later.
The former Duke of York was questioned by detectives from Thames Valley police on Thursday and spent 11 hours in police custody. He was released under investigation and there are understood to be no restrictions on his movements while officers continue their inquiries.
The force said on Saturday that searches at his former home, Royal Lodge in Windsor, were likely to continue over the weekend. Detectives have already searched Mountbatten-Windsor’s new home, on the Sandringham estate in Norfolk. Items seized from the properties are now being examined, it is understood.
Thames Valley police said it was yet to take formal early investigative advice from the Crown Prosecution Service, meaning a decision on whether to charge Mountbatten-Windsor could be some time away.
Mountbatten-Windsor has declined to comment on any of the recent developments, but has previously denied wrongdoing in relation to his friendship with Epstein, who took his own life in a New York prison cell after being charged with child sex trafficking offences in 2019.
The former prince continued his friendship with Esptein after his conviction for child sex offences in 2008, visiting him in New York, inviting him to Buckingham Palace and sending him intimate family photographs.
Ghislaine Maxwell, another close friend of Mountbatten-Windsor and an accomplice of Epstein, is serving a 20-year prison sentence in the US for her role in his crimes.