THE UK Government is reportedly considering introducing legislation to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of royal succession.
The move would prevent Andrew from ever becoming King, and would come after the Thames Valley Police investigation has concluded.
The disgraced former prince, and King Charles' brother, remains eighth in line to the throne despite being stripped of his titles in October amid growing pressure on the royal family over Andrew's ties to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Andrew is still a counsellor of state, the group of adult royals who could be named to stand in for King Charles if he were ill or abroad, even if in practice this would never happen for him, as only working royals are used and he stepped back from public duties in 2019.
He was arrested under suspicion of misconduct in public office on Thursday as officers from Thames Valley Police spent two days combing his Sandringham Estate.
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The former prince was pictured slouched in the back of a vehicle on Thursday evening as he left Aylsham police station after he had been in custody for around 11 hours.
The UK Government's proposal comes after some MPs, including the SNP and LibDems, signalled their support for such legislation.
Downing Street said in October it had no plans to introduce a law to change the line of succession despite pressure from opposition parties.
The legislation would require an act of Parliament, approved by MPs and peers, along with the backing of all other Commonwealth countries that have King Charles as their head of state, as any change in lineage would also affect their lines of succession.
Andrew became the first senior royal in modern history to be arrested after being taken into custody on his 66th birthday over allegations he shared sensitive information with Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy.
Thames Valley Police, who are leading the investigation, are yet to receive any “early investigative advice” from the Crown Prosecution Service in relation to the allegation, it is understood.
Detectives have asked Andrew’s former close protection officers to “consider carefully whether anything they saw or heard” during their service could be relevant to the investigation into paedophile financier Epstein and his associates.
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The Metropolitan Police said it was also working with counterparts in the US to establish whether London airports had been used to “facilitate human trafficking and sexual exploitation”.
On Friday, the force said no new reports of alleged sexual offences have been made since the release of millions of pages of documents related to Epstein by the US Department of Justice.
The force previously said it was looking into allegations Andrew’s protection officers turned a “blind eye” to his visits to Epstein’s island, Little St James.
Police are yet to identify any wrongdoing by close protection officers.
Andrew’s primary accuser, Virginia Giuffre, alleged she had sex with him during an orgy with “underage” girls on the Caribbean island.
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The former prince has previously vehemently denied all allegations made against him.
The 14 Commonwealth countries where King Charles is head of state are Australia, Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Belize, Canada, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu.
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