Australia’s Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, has written to UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer expressing support for the possible removal of Prince Andrew from the royal line of succession.
Albanese’s letter follows Andrew’s recent arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office linked to his tenure as the UK’s trade envoy between 2001 and 2011. The Duke of York was questioned by police for 11 hours on February 19 — his 66th birthday — and later released pending further investigation.
Andrew has denied any wrongdoing, both regarding his time as trade envoy and his past association with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In his correspondence, excerpts of which were published by The Guardian, Albanese described the accusations as “grave” and said Australians take them seriously. He stated that his government would support any proposal to remove Andrew from the line of succession, adding that the law must be allowed to take its full course through a “full, fair and proper investigation.”
Although Andrew was stripped of his royal titles last year, he remains eighth in line to the throne. Any move to remove him would require legislation passed by the UK Parliament, along with the backing of the 14 Commonwealth realms where King Charles III serves as head of state, including Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Starmer’s office confirmed receipt of the letter, saying the government is considering whether further steps are necessary but would not comment in detail while the police investigation is ongoing. According to reports from Press Association, the government may consider introducing legislation once the inquiry concludes.
The development comes after a report by BBC alleged that Andrew used taxpayer funds for massages and luxury travel during his time as trade envoy. A former civil servant reportedly claimed efforts to block the expenses were overruled by senior officials.
So far, Australia is the only Commonwealth realm to publicly signal support for removing Andrew from the line of succession.