Australia’s Albanese backs axing former Prince Andrew from line of succession

Politico Europe · Feb 23, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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News Politics The UK government is considering legislation to ensure Andrew never becomes king. U.K. government minister Luke Pollard confirmed Friday that Keir Starmer's government is considering legislation to remove Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession. | Ben Montgomery/Getty Images February 23, 2026 1:46 pm CET LONDON — Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, that he will support any effort to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew, from the U.K. monarchy’s line of succession. In a letter to Starmer, Albanese said his government would “agree to any proposal” to remove the former prince from the line of royal succession — thus ensuring he could never become king. Mountbatten-Windsor, King Charles III’s brother, remains eighth in line to the throne despite being stripped of his titles over his ties to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. He is behind both Prince William and Harry and the children of both men, meaning it is highly unlikely he could ever ascend to the throne. On Thursday, Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested by U.K. police on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He has faced multiple allegations over his links to Epstein, including claims that he passed confidential documents to Epstein while he was serving as a British trade envoy between 2001 and 2011. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and has not been charged with any offense. U.K. government minister Luke Pollard confirmed Friday that Starmer’s government is considering legislation to remove Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession, and has been working with Buckingham Palace on plans to stop the former prince from “potentially being a heartbeat away from the throne.” Any legislation would require the support of all 14 Commonwealth nations, where Charles remains head of state, including Australia and Canada. The line of succession was last tweaked by law in 2013, when former PM David Cameron’s government ended the rules which placed elder daughters behind younger sons. The legislation also overturned a ban on marrying Catholics for those in the line of succession. Albanese became the first Commonwealth leader to pledge his support on Monday. He told Starmer in a statement shared by No.10 Downing Street that there must also be a “full, fair and proper investigation” into the allegations leveled at Mountbatten-Windsor. The former prince was released by police on Thursday evening, with further investigations to take place.