The Prince of Wales wanted Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor removed from the line of succession last year, it can be revealed.
Prince William is frustrated by the delay in axing Andrew, 66, who remains eighth in line to the throne.
The government is considering legislation to remove Andrew from the line of succession following his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office during his decade as the UK’s trade envoy. On Saturday government sources said the process could now take “years”.
Andrew remains under police investigation following allegations he shared classified information with associates including the convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing.
• Epstein files raise questions over Princess Eugenie’s charity
On Saturday the King was seen driving on the Sandringham estate. Royal sources confirmed he did not visit Andrew, has not seen him since his arrest and has no plans to visit him.
The King leaves Sandringham on Saturday
TERRY HARRIS FOR THE SUNDAY TIMES
Charles officially stripped his younger brother of titles and honours in October and forced him to leave Royal Lodge, Windsor, after further revelations about his friendship with Epstein. But Charles was reluctant at the time to go further in giving government the nod to remove Andrew from the line of succession and did not want parliamentary time taken up by the issue.
Shortly before Andrew’s arrest on February 19, sources close to the King indicated he had changed his mind, telling The Sunday Times that Buckingham Palace “wouldn’t argue” if the government acted. William, however, wanted the process instigated in the autumn when Andrew’s titles were stripped and has privately expressed frustration the issue was not resolved at the time.
Charles, Harry, Andrew and William at the Queen’s funeral in 2022
GLYN KIRK
William, 43, is anxious about the impact of Andrew’s scandal on the monarchy and the implications for his future reign. While attending the Baftas with the Princess of Wales three days after Andrew’s arrest, he admitted he had not watched the film Hamnet based on Maggie O’Farrell’s book about the death of William Shakespeare’s young son, because “I need to be in quite a calm state and I am not at the moment”.
• King Charles hopes to contain ‘unstable’ Andrew with Sandringham move
After the recent release of the Epstein files in the US, a spokesman for the Waleses said: “I can confirm that the prince and princess have been deeply concerned by the continuing revelations. Their thoughts remain focused on the victims.”
At the Duchess of Kent’s funeral in September last year, William visibly blanked Andrew after the service as he attempted to engage his nephew in conversation on the steps of Westminster Cathedral.
The prince’s dislike for Andrew is longstanding. In 2021, sources close to him said he considered his uncle to be “a risk” and “a threat to the family” because of his uncle’s “ungracious and ungrateful” attitude towards his position.
Ministers have confirmed they are discussing the succession issue with Buckingham Palace, but no decision has yet been taken regarding removing Andrew’s daughters, Princess Beatrice, 37, and Princess Eugenie, 35. Beatrice is ninth in line, followed by her two daughters Sienna and Athena Mapelli Mozzi, aged four and one. Eugenie is twelfth in line, followed by her sons August and Ernest Brooksbank, aged five and two. The King’s other siblings, the Duke of Edinburgh and the Princess Royal, are fifteenth and eighteenth in line.
Andrew with Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice in 2016
MAX MUMBY/INDIGO/GETTY IMAGES
Andrew is unlikely to be removed from the line of succession until after the conclusion of all police investigations and government sources have acknowledged the “constitutional complexity” of the matter. Constitutional experts say any legislation would need to explicitly exclude Beatrice and Eugenie, if that was the intention, pointing to the Abdication Act of 1936 in which Edward VIII declared he was renouncing the throne for himself and any future descendants. He did not go on to have children.
When the King stripped Andrew of his titles last year, Buckingham Palace confirmed that as daughters of the son of a sovereign, Beatrice and Eugenie would retain their titles in line with King George V’s letters patent of 1917. The Palace also advised that “the position of the Princesses is wholly unaffected”.
The King has been keen to show he remains fond of his nieces and believes they should not be punished for Andrew’s conduct. In December, both Beatrice and Eugenie joined the royal family at Sandringham for Christmas, after the King indicated neither Andrew nor his former wife, Sarah Ferguson, were welcome. It is not thought either of the princesses have visited Andrew at Wood Farm, his temporary home on the Sandringham estate, since his arrest. Andrew is expected to move to nearby Marsh Farm in the coming months when renovations there are complete.
After a turbulent period for the royal family, the King, 77, who is still receiving cancer treatment, and the Queen, 78, will have a period of “downtime” this week, with no scheduled public engagements.
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace say the King and the Prince of Wales are “in lockstep” on Andrew.
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