Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should be removed from the royal line of succession for alleged actions he described as 'deplorable'. Carney said the actions that have caused Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to be stripped of his royal titles 'necessitate' his removal from the line of succession, and he said there was a process to remove someone from the line of succession, which he says should be followed. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on 19 February on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
He is eighth in line to the throne after Princes William and Harry and their children. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor relinquished his royal titles in October after new information came to light about his links to Jeffrey Epstein, but he is still a counsellor of state, the group of adult royals who could be named to fill in for King Charles III if he was ill or abroad. Removing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession would require an act of the UK parliament and the support of the 14 commonwealth countries where Charles is head of state, which includes Australia and New Zealand.
King Charles is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the commonwealth of former colonies. In February, the Australian and New Zealand governments confirmed they would support any proposal to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the royal line of succession after his arrest. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to offer Australia's backing for removing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession.
' The allegations against Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor stem from documents released by the US justice department relating to Jeffrey Epstein and his links to the rich and powerful. Emails released appeared to show Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sharing reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing or accusations against him, and he has not so far been charged with any criminal offence.