THE British government is weighing new legislation that could remove the former prince, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, from the line of royal succession, according to reports.
Officials in the United Kingdom, speaking on condition of anonymity to the BBC on Friday, said the decision could follow after the police finish their investigation into the ex-prince’s ties with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“The move would come after the ongoing police investigation has concluded,” the BBC reported.
The UK’s Press Association news service said British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government “will consider introducing such legislation once the police have finished their investigation” into Mountbatten-Windsor, who is currently eighth in line to the British throne.
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on Thursday, his 66th birthday, on suspicion of misconduct in a public office linked to his friendship with Epstein. He was held in custody for 11 hours before being released under investigation.
A YouGov poll conducted after his arrest on Thursday showed that 82 percent of respondents believed that he should be removed from his place in line to the British throne.
King Charles had already stripped Mountbatten-Windsor, his younger brother and a son of the late Queen Elizabeth II, of his titles and removed him from his home in the Royal Lodge, located in Windsor, Berkshire. Charles has also made it clear that the law must take its course, and the police have his full support and cooperation.
On Saturday, police continued to search the former home of Mountbatten-Windsor and their investigation appeared to intensify with the focus turning to former members of the prince’s close protection unit, and what they may have witnessed.
London’s Metropolitan Police said on Friday it was identifying and contacting former and serving security officers who may have worked closely with Mountbatten-Windsor.
“They have been asked to consider carefully whether anything they saw or heard during that period of service may be relevant to our ongoing reviews and to share any information that could assist us,” police said in a statement.
“We continue to urge anyone with new or relevant information to come forward. All allegations will be taken seriously and, as with any matter, any information received will be assessed and investigated where appropriate,” police said.
British police have previously examined claims that Mountbatten-Windsor’s protection officers overlooked his visits to Epstein’s private island. Police say no wrongdoing by close protection officers has yet been identified.
Mountbatten-Windsor has denied any wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, a convicted sex offender who took his own life in a New York jail in 2019.
In 2022, Mountbatten-Windsor settled a civil lawsuit – reported to be 12 million pounds ($16.2m) – in a US court brought by the late Virginia Giuffre, who accused him of sexually abusing her as a teenager at properties linked to Epstein.
Giuffre, who took her own life last year, alleged she had sex with Mountbatten-Windsor during an orgy with underage girls on Epstein’s island in the Caribbean.
Public anger in the UK has mounted in recent months following a stream of disclosures about his relationship with Epstein.
The police began their investigation amid claims Mountbatten-Windsor shared confidential information with the paedophile financier during the ex-prince’s time as a UK trade envoy from 2001 to 2011.