FRESH calls have been made for Sir Kier Starmer to cut Andrew from the line of succession after the former Prince was stripped of his royal titles.
The Prime Minister is under pressure from his own MPs to act to avoid a potential constitutional crisis.
The former prince is currently eighth in line to the throne, with an Act of Parliament needed to prevent him from ever becoming king.
Previously, Downing Street has resisted pressure to change the line of succession, saying there were “no plans” to make any alterations.
While it would be highly unlikely that Andrew would ever ascend to the throne, it is within the bounds of possibility.
Ahead of him is the Prince William and his children as well as Prince Harry and his offspring, who currently live in the US.
One Labour MP reportedly said that in the event of an “unimaginable tragedy,” it was still possible that Andrew could become king, adding that it was something the British people “would not put up with”.
A Labour minister told The Telegraph that they backed the removal of Andrew from the succession “in principle”.
All the titles Andrew is giving up
Andrew is giving up all his titles after discussions with the King and wider Royal Family
They are:
- Duke of York
- Earl of Inverness
- Barony Killyleagh
- Prince
- Knight Grand Cross of the Victorian Order
He has also agreed to not use the honours given to him as a Royal Knight Companion of the Order of the Garter.
He will now just be called Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
It comes after it was revealed Andrew will not move from his current Royal Lodge home in Windsor to the King’s private Sandringham estate until the new year.
It’s believed the former Duke of York could receive as much as £550,000 in compensation for giving up his lease on his current 30-room property.
Andrew is also expected to get an annual stipend from the King’s private funds.
It’s reported this could be several times his £20,000 annual pension he gets from the Royal Navy.
Despite not paying rent since 2003, Andrew paid an eye-watering £1million for the lease, as well as at least £7.5million on refurbishments.
The payment would be made through the Crown Estate, which manages Crown properties for the benefit of the taxpayer.
Some of the £500k compensation likely be spent on repairs to the mansion, so he is unlikely to get the full sum.
Buckingham Palace insists while the action announced last night has been led by the King it has been supported by the wider family, including Wills.
The biographer of King Charles, Jonathan Dimbleby, told The Telegraph that His Majesty would be feeling “enormous relief” that the situation with his brother was now dealt with, allowing the King to “move on” and get on with his role.
More revelations about Andrew’s association with the disgraced financier Epstein came to light on Friday night after court documents were made public in a New York court.
Among the files released was an email from Andrew to Epstein where he said it would be “good to catch up in person” after Epstein was released from prison for prostituting minors.
Some MPs believe King Charles needs to go further than simply strip his brother of all his titles and force him out of his current Windsor home.
The Labour MP for Normanton and Hemsworth, Jon Trickett, said the former prince should no longer be eighth in line to the throne.
He told the newspaper: “In the event of an unimaginable family catastrophe, Andrew could inherit the throne.
“The British people would not put up with it and this ought to be resolved so that he isn’t in line at all.”
Read the latest stories on Andrew….
Rachel Maskell, the independent MP for York Central, said: “Whatever the eventuality of this occurrence ever happening, it would be appropriate to change the line of succession, and remove his counsellor of state role, although he could not be called upon to fulfil this role.”
A Counsellor of state can act as a stand-in for the monarch if they are overseas or ill, but Buckingham Palace has said Andrew would not be asked to perform such a role.
When one government minister was asked if they would support the removal of Andrew from the line of succession, said: “In principle, yes.”
A backbench MP could introduce a Private Member’s Bill to remove Andrew from the line of succession.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister said: “Obviously, the provisions for MPs to put forward legislation are well-established.
“Those would be decisions for MPs and Parliament.”
Along with an Act of Parliament being passed, all 14 other Commonwealth countries would need to change the line of succession.
A former historical adviser to Downing Street, Sir Anthony Seldon, said Andrew should voluntarily give up his place in the line in order to settle the matter.
He said: “It’s disappointing that he hasn’t done more to remove himself, to bring an end to all this woe on the Royal Family.
“If he cares deeply about the family and institution, as he says he does, I hope he would act to the standard he says he holds himself to, which would save a lot of people a lot of anxiety. It might even win him some support.”
While a member of the Royal Family cannot voluntarily give up their place in the succession, they can ask Parliament to be removed.
Buckingham Palace has said Andrew will remain eighth in line to the throne.
Downing Street ‘fully supports’ King’s decision
The Government has confirmed it has no plans to make legislative changes – which would be required to alter the line of succession.
A Downing Street spokesperson said: “We fully support the decision taken yesterday by the palace.
“Our hearts go out to the family of Virginia Giuffre and all the victims who suffered from Jeffrey Epstein’s despicable crimes in all of this.
“We should never forget that. We echo the statement yesterday that our thoughts and utmost sympathies have been and will remain with the victims and survivors of any and all forms of abuse.
“It has been the position of successive governments to not comment on discussions with or around the monarch.”
Sources say that it is such an “unlikely prospect” that Andrew would ever find himself at the top of the list that it wasn’t worth taking action.
Should multiple untimely deaths occur, action could then be taken to ensure he would not become monarch.
It has also emerged that the police watchdog has contacted the Metropolitan Police over claims Andrew asked an officer to dig up information on Virginia Giuffre, his sex abuse accuser.
Andrew has always denied the claims made by Ms Giuffre.
According to a 2011 email leaked last month, the former prince asked his police bodyguard to investigate Ms Giuffre and passed him her date of birth and social security number.
A spokesman for the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said: “We have had contact with the Met, which confirmed that no referral has been made and as a result we have no involvement with these matters.”
The Met said it was still looking into the claims.
