In Brief
- The controversy around Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor continues to grow in the United Kingdom.
- "These are grave allegations and Australians take them seriously," Albanese has said.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told his British counterpart Keir Starmer that he supports the removal of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the royal line of succession.
Starmer has signalled he will consider passing legislation to remove the former prince from the royal line of succession amid growing controversy over his ties to the the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Albanese has now written to Starmer saying "in light of recent events," his government would "agree to any proposal to remove him (Mountbatten-Windsor) from the line of royal succession".
"I agree with His Majesty that the law must now take its full course and there must be a full, fair and proper investigation,” Albanese wrote.
"These are grave allegations and Australians take them seriously."
On Thursday, the former prince, who is eighth in line to the throne, became the first British Royal to be arrested in modern history. He was detained and questioned by Thames Valley police for ten hours under suspicion of misconduct in public office during his time as the United Kingdom's trade envoy to America from 2001 to 2011.
The 66-year-old has not been charged, and police say the investigation is ongoing.
Starmer himself has been facing calls to step aside after it emerged that the United States ambassador he appointed, Lord Peter Mandelson, had ties to Epstein which which were maintained after he had been convicted.
Starmer fired him in September. But new revelations about Mandelson earlier this month, which emerged in recent files about Epstein, raised fresh doubts about Starmer's judgement and left some — including within his ruling centre-left Labour party — questioning if he can remain prime minister.
Anas Sarwar, leader of the Scottish Labour Party, called on him to resign. Many of Starmer's cabinet ministers, however, have publicly backed his leadership.
The UK prime minister offered an apology to the victims of Epstein at the start of the month but said that he intends to remain in his position.
"Sorry for what was done to you, sorry that so many people with power failed you, sorry for having believed Mandelson's lies and appointed him," Starmer said.
Mandelson — who resigned from the House of Lords earlier this month — apologised in January for continuing to associate with Epstein after the sex offender's 2008 conviction, saying "I was wrong to believe him" and "ignorant" of his crimes.
King Charles wrote in a statement last week that Buckingham Palace would cooperate in full with official enquiries into the potential wrongdoings of his brother.
"What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner," the King said following Mountbatten-Windsor's arrest. "In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and co-operation.
"Let me state clearly: the law must take its course.”
Albanese described the arrest of the British royal as an "extraordinary fall from grace" on Friday but added that the controversy would not prompt another referendum on Australia becoming a republic.
The process to change succession
The road towards stripping the former prince from the line of succession would take time, as an act of parliament is needed — with support from each of the 14 Commonwealth countries, including Australia, New Zealand and Canada.
"Before the line of succession could be changed, it would require all 14 countries where King Charles is also their head of state, as well as the UK, to change the law of succession," said constitutional expert Robert Hazell from University College London.
In October, King Charles announced he would strip all royal titles of his younger brother, who was subsequently forced to vacate his mansion, the Royal Lodge.
It followed growing backlash over Mountbatten-Windsor's ties to Epstein following the release of a posthumous memoir by American Australian Virginia Giuffre, who alleged in 2014 that she had been trafficked to Andrew by Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell as a 17-year-old.
Mountbatten-Windsor has consistently denied any wrongdoing. He agreed to pay Giuffre millions of dollars in 2022 to end her civil sexual assault case against him, while not admitting liability.
New revelations from the latest documents relating to Epstein released by the United States government last month included emails in which Andrew appeared to share potentially confidential information with the disgraced financier.
Official guidance is thought to require trade envoys to have a duty of confidentiality over sensitive commercial or political information.
At least nine British police forces have confirmed they are assessing claims stemming from the Epstein files, many related to the former prince.
— With additional reporting by Reuters and Agence France-Presse
If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732, text 0458 737 732, or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.
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