It could take years for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor to be removed from the line of succession, a leading constitutional law expert has said. Last week, Andrew was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office after being accused of sharing sensitive information with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein while serving as the UK’s trade envoy.
The Government has said it is considering introducing legislation to remove the disgraced former prince as one of the King’s successors, but only once the police investigation into the former Duke of York has concluded. Andrew spent 11 hours in custody on his 66th birthday while officers searched his home on the Sandringham Estate, in Norfolk, before he was released under investigation. Despite being stripped of his title last year, the former Duke of York is still eighth in line to the throne, and an Act of Parliament would be required to prevent him from ever becoming king.
Each of the Commonwealth realms where the King is head of state would also need to ratify the law change, such as Australia and Canada.
As a result, Dr Craig Prescott, a specialist in UK constitutional law who focuses on the role of the monarchy, said it could take four years to implement the legislation to oust Andrew from the line of succession.
He explained: “There needs to be an agreement between all the countries where the King is head of state and all their governments.
“Then it needs to be implemented in legislation in the UK and those countries. And in Australia, it even requires some local parliaments to pass legislation.”
Using the recent change in succession law as an example, Mr Prescott said it is a slow and complex process.
After legislation was agreed in principle to end the system of male primogeniture – that a male heir took precedence over women – at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth, Australia, in October 2011, it was not until March 2015 that the changes came into force in all of the Realms.
The expert believes a similar, if not longer timeframe, could be seen in Andrew’s case.
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“On the face of it, it doesn’t seem to be an urgent issue – he’s never going to become king,” said Mr Prescott. “Why would any one particular parliament burst their bridges to do it?”
He added that it would be “a waste of parliamentary time” unless a conviction is made.
Asked whether removing Andrew from the line of succession would impact his daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, Mr Prescott thought it unlikely.
He said: “Beatrice and Eugenie are there in the line of succession in their own right. So it would depend on what is agreed, but typically they [MPs] will try and do the least possible when it comes to legislating about the monarchy, so it’s likely just Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor will be removed.”
The York sisters are currently ninth and 12th in line to the throne, respectively, with Beatrice’s daughters Sienna and Athena coming between them. August and Ernest, Eugenie’s sons, follow in 13th and 14th position.
If politicians decided it was necessary to also remove Beatrice and Eugenie from the line of succession, their children would also be affected.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.express.co.uk ’
