Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor is yet to take the last bullet from his elder brother, King Charles III.
The former Duke of York – who was arrested by Thames Valley Police on Thursday, February 19, 2026, on the morning of his 66th birthday over suspicion of misconduct in public office, is still a heartbeat away from the throne, and the firm wants to take that privilege from him.
Just a day after his arrest and release 11 hours after the investigation, various outlets reported that His Majesty and the UK government are planning to remove Andrew from the line of succession in the wake of his explosive past with Jeffrey Epstein.
On Friday, February 20, in an exclusive conversation at BBC Radio 4s programme Any Questions, the Defence Minister Luke Pollard confirmed that the government is mulling to bring a legislation to remove Andrew’s name from the heirs to end any possibility of him becoming the King.
Pollard claimed that the government had "absolutely" been working with Buckingham Palace to stop Andrew from "potentially being a heartbeat away from the throne".
"Something that I hope will enjoy cross party support, but its right that that is something that only happens when the police investigation concludes," he added.
Andrew was probed for almost 11 hours over allegations of leaking UK's trade details to the late paedophile and sex offender Epstein while he was a trade envoy.
Meanwhile, Andrew is also facing allegations of sexual misconduct with minor girls at the infamous Epstein Island - one of his prominent victims were late Virginia Giuffre.
Virginia - who was trafficked by Epstein to have sexual relation with the disgraced royal had accused Andrew of sexually assaulting her when she was below 18.
However, Andrew has always denied all the wrongdoings and settled the sexual assault lawsuit outside the court in 2021.
