Prime Minister Mark Carney has weighed in on the controversy surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, saying he believes he should be removed from the Royal Family’s line of succession.
“Personally, I do. Yes,” Carney said when asked directly about the issue while speaking to reporters in Tokyo on Friday.
Mountbatten-Windsor, formerly known as Prince Andrew and the brother of King Charles III, has been embroiled in controversy for years over his long-term friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Last month, Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested and released without charge on suspicion of misconduct in public office. Authorities are investigating whether he shared confidential information with Epstein while serving as trade envoy for the U.K. from 2001 to 2011.
Meanwhile, in October of last year, he was stripped of his royal title over his links to Epstein. The 66-year-old former prince currently remains eighth in line to the throne, positioned behind Prince Harry’s children.
Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing.
Carney said while he believes he should be stripped of his title, he acknowledged “there’s a process.”
“I certainly think his actions, which are deplorable … have caused him to be stripped of his royal title,” he added.
The U.K. government is currently reviewing options to remove Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession.
“The government is clear that we are not ruling out action in respect of the line of succession at this stage, and we will consider whether any further steps are required in due course,” Darren Jones, U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s chief secretary, told lawmakers earlier this week.
It has been 90 years since a British royal was removed from the line of succession, when King Edward VIII abdicated the throne in 1936.
With files from The Associated Press
