Calls for Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor — formerly known as Prince Andrew — to remove himself from the royal line of succession are growing following his arrest in an investigation into his alleged involvement with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The second eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Mountbatten-Windsor is currently eighth in the line of succession to the throne. When he was born in 1960, he was second in line, preceded only by his brother, King Charles III.
He has since dropped down the order, behind Prince William, Prince Harry, and their respective children.
On Thursday, Shadow Scotland Secretary Andrew Bowie told British outlet GB News, “I think it would be the decent thing… of course, if he’s found guilty of this, I think Parliament would be well within its rights to act to remove him from the line of succession.”
“But, let’s remember, he’s not been found guilty of anything just yet — he has yet to be charged with anything. So we have to let the police investigation run its course, and I think we should all act accordingly subsequent to that,” he continued.
Stephen Flynn, Scottish National Party (SNP) leader, also suggested Mountbatten-Windsor be removed from the line of succession.
“The public will be rightly angry that a man who lied about being mates with Epstein could still be on course to be head of state,” he told The Sun newspaper.
The procession with the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, followed by, from left, King Charles III, Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward, heads up the Royal Mile to St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh, on Sept. 12, 2022.
AP Photo/Scott Heppell
Liberal Democrats leader Ed Davey said Mountbatten-Windsor’s position should be taken into account.
“The most important thing right now is that the police be allowed to get on with their job, acting without fear or favour. But clearly this is an issue that parliament is going to have to consider when the time is right, naturally the monarchy will want to make sure he can never become king,” he said in a statement.
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For Mountbatten-Windsor to be removed from the line of succession, the U.K. Parliament would have to pass legislation that requires the agreement of the 15 Commonwealth realms who have King Charles III as their head of state — including Canada.
The last time a law on succession was changed was in 2012, when the Commonwealth abolished a rule that put male heirs ahead of female heirs regardless of age.
This provision did not change the current line of succession to the throne, as the new rule applied to heirs born after Oct. 23, 2011.
FILE – Queen Camilla, King Charles III, Prince Louis of Wales, Prince William, Prince of Wales, Prince George of Wales, Catherine, Princess of Wales and Princess Charlotte of Wales on the balcony at Buckingham Palace during Trooping The Colour 2025 on June 14, 2025, in London, England.
Photo by Karwai Tang/WireImage
Calls to remove Mountbatten‑Windsor come amid new YouGov polling showing that 82 per cent of Britons believe he should be wiped from the royal line of succession altogether. Six per cent of respondents said he should remain.
While Mountbatten‑Windsor’s circumstances are unique, if he were to step aside, it would not be the first time a British royal has given up their claim to the throne.
King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936 to marry the American divorcee Wallis Simpson, and was removed from the line of succession by the Declaration of Abdication Act. It was, at the time, against the rules of the Church of England — of which the king or queen is in charge — to allow divorced people to remarry; this rule was rescinded in 2002.
The Declaration of Abdication Act also excluded the descendants of Edward VIII, if any, from the line of succession to the throne. It is unclear at this juncture whether Mountbatten‑Windsor’s potential removal would lead to the exclusion of his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, as well as their respective children, from the line of succession.
Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest was also the last straw for one Ontario mayor who is now seeking to rename a street in his municipality.
St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe told Global News Thursday he will ask council on Monday to consider renaming Prince Andrew Court, a residential street near Prince Charles Court and Lake Street.
“St. Catharines councillors and I have been having discussions for some time about whether the court should be renamed,” Siscoe said in a statement.
“Given today’s news of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest, I would say there is no reason to continue discussing.”
Police said Thursday that Mountbatten-Windsor was released under investigation, meaning he has neither been charged nor exonerated.
“This is the most spectacular fall from grace for a member of the royal family in modern times,” said Craig Prescott, a royal expert at Royal Holloway, University of London, who compared it in severity to the crisis sparked by Edward VIII’s abdication to marry Simpson.
“And it may not be over yet,” Prescott added.
Danny Shaw, an expert on law enforcement in the U.K., told the BBC that the former prince was likely placed in “a cell in a custody suite” with just “a bed and a toilet” while he awaited his police interview.
“There’ll be no special treatment for him,” Shaw said.
— With files from Global News’ Aaron D’Andrea and The Associated Press
© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
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