Britain Reviews the Abrogation of Prince Andrew's Right to Inherit the Royal Throne

JAKARTA - The British government is considering introducing legislation to remove former Prince Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the British royal succession line.

This was done amid the uproar following Andrew's arrest after new revelations emerged regarding the American (US) sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein.

The government plans to submit the proposal, which would prevent Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, as his current official name, from ever becoming king, the BBC reports.

A number of British politicians voiced anger at former Prince Andrew after he was arrested, Thursday (19/2) for alleged public office abuse, following the latest revelations in documents released in the US regarding Epstein, who died in a cell in 2019.

Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said the former prince's status in the line of succession to the throne needed to be considered.

"Obviously this is an issue that parliament should consider at the appropriate time. Of course the monarchy wants to make sure that he can never become king," he said in a statement quoted by ANTARA,

Stephen Flynn, leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) in Westminster, told British tabloid The Sun that the public was right to be angry if a man who lied about his friendship with Epstein still had a chance to become head of state.

Andrew Bowie, shadow Scottish secretary for the Conservative Party, said removing Andrew from the line of succession was the right move.

"If he is found guilty of this, I think parliament has every right to act to remove him from the line of succession," he said.

A YouGov poll published on Friday showed 82 per cent of Britons now believe Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should be completely removed from the royal succession line, while 6 per cent said he should remain on the list.

The last time the line of succession was changed through parliamentary legislation was in 2013, when the Succession to the Crown Act restored the rights of individuals who had previously been excluded for marrying a Catholic.

Meanwhile, the last individual to be removed from the line of succession by law was King Edward VIII, who abdicated in 1936 to marry Wallis Simpson, who was divorced, so that he and his descendants would no longer be entitled to inherit the British throne.

Andrew's rebuttal

On Thursday, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, 66, was detained by Thames Valley police, although he was released 11 hours later.

"After conducting a thorough assessment, we have begun an investigation into this alleged breach of public office," Assistant Chief Constable Oliver Wright said.

The former prince has denied breaking any laws relating to his relationship with Epstein.

On February 9, British police confirmed that they were investigating a report of alleged violations of the law "in accordance with applicable procedures."

Andrew, the younger brother of King Charles III, served as a British trade envoy from 2001 to 2011. He resigned from royal duties in 2019 after his relationship with Epstein was revealed.

According to the latest disclosure of the Epstein file, on October 7, 2010, Andrew was known to send his travel schedule as a trade envoy to Singapore, Vietnam, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong to Epstein.

On November 30, 2010, shortly after receiving the official travel report from his assistant in particular, Andrew allegedly forwarded the report to Epstein.