British PM Starmer mulls law to remove former prince Andrew from line of succession
- Last updated: February 21, 2026 | 12:35 ..
Keir Starmer’s government is weighing up introducing legislation to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession after the police finish investigating him, it is understood.
The move would require an Act of Parliament and the agreement of other countries which share the UK monarch.
Calls have grown for the former prince to relinquish his position as eighth in line to the throne following his arrest on Thursday.
It comes as the Metropolitan Police urged Mountbatten-Windsor’s former bodyguards to “consider carefully whether anything they saw or heard” may be relevant to the force's review of the Epstein files.
It said earlier this week it was conducting inquiries following allegations related to Mountbatten-Windsor’s former royal close protection officers.
On Thursday, the disgraced former prince was released under investigation following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
Thames Valley Police is investigating claims that while serving as the UK’s trade envoy, he shared sensitive information with disgraced financier and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Mountbatten-Windsor, who turned 66 on Thursday, has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing in relation to his connections to Epstein.
The former prince faces an investigation into the offence of misconduct in public office, over his ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein. The former prince, who became the first senior royal in modern history to be arrested, is accused of sharing sensitive information with Epstein while serving as the UK’s trade envoy.
The Independent