The Australian government has confirmed it would support any proposal to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the royal line of succession, following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer offering the country's backing as the UK considers laws to strip the former prince of his right to inherit the throne.
Mountbatten-Windsor, currently eighth in line to the throne, relinquished his royal titles in October after new information emerged about his links to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and child sex offender. Despite this, he remains a counsellor of state, though in practice only working royals are used to fill in for King Charles III if needed.
Removing him from the line of succession would require an act of the UK parliament and support from the 14 Commonwealth countries where King Charles is head of state, including Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. Albanese's letter, supplied to Guardian Australia, stated: '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.'
The Guardian reported that Buckingham Palace would not obstruct plans to remove Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession. King Charles said after his brother's arrest that 'the law must take its course.' Albanese described the arrest as an 'extraordinary fall from grace' but said it would not prompt a new referendum on an Australian head of state, following the failed 1999 republic referendum.
