While the British government has signalled it would consider removing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the royal line of succession, it is not as simple as changing the law in the UK alone.
While King Charles used his powers as sovereign to demote his brother without needing any action by politicians – such as removing his peerage – the line of succession can only be changed by parliament.
Former prince Andrew with King Charles III pictured in September last year.AP
The change would require matching laws by more than a dozen realms including Australia, New Zealand and Canada to ensure the former prince could not be considered an heir to the throne, similar to changes made more than a decade ago to introduce gender equality into the succession.
The changes on gender equality took several years to accomplish across the parliaments in every realm after then-UK prime minister David Cameron outlined the changes in 2011.
The Australian parliament passed the Succession to the Crown Bill in March 2015. State parliaments approved the same changes to ensure every realm was aligned.
According to the BBC, the last time someone was taken out of the line of succession by an act of parliament was in 1936, when Edward VIII and his descendants were removed following his abdication.