Summary
- The government says it has no plans to pass a law to formally remove Andrew Mountbatten Windsor from the line of succession
- Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne and it would take an act of Parliament to formally remove him – passing a law to change that would be complex, writes our political reporter
- Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday that Andrew would lose all his royal titles and leave his 30-room mansion in Windsor – but he won’t leave Royal Lodge immediately, sources say
- The dramatic statement on Thursday night came after months of pressure over Andrew’s private life
- In a posthumous memoir published this month, Virginia Giuffre repeated allegations that, as a teenager, she had sex with Andrew on three separate occasions – Andrew has always denied the claims
- Giuffre’s brother, Sky Roberts, welcomes the King’s move against Andrew – but tells BBC Newsnight: “It’s not enough – we have to have some sort of investigation that goes further into this”
No moving date yet for Mr Mountbatten Windsor
It’s 24 hours since Buckingham Palace confirmed Andrew will leave his Windsor mansion and be stripped of the title prince, leaving him as plain old Andrew Mountbatten Windsor.
The wheels are in motion.
A Royal Warrant has been sent to the justice secretary and Andrew has been struck off the roll of peerage. He looks set to remain, however, as eighth in line to the throne, with the government not planning to pass the law needed to remove him from the line of succession.
The King’s intervention is a unique and historic moment and avoids a drawn-out political circus, says Dominic Casciani, the BBC’s home and legal correspondent.
As for any chance of Andrew being forgiven by the public, our royal correspondent Sean Coughlan says that is unlikely in the absence of any public show of remorse.
It is understood the former prince won’t be departing Royal Lodge for the Sandringham Estate immediately, with the move potentially not taking place until next year.
