Police search former Prince Andrew’s home after arrest
LONDON—Police searched the former home of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor again on Friday, a day after he was arrested and held in custody for nearly 11 hours on suspicion of misconduct in having shared confidential trade information with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In another blow for the former Prince Andrew, the British government is considering formally removing him from the line of succession to the crown. Despite losing his status as a prince and facing a police investigation, Andrew remains eighth in line to the throne.
That can only be changed with new legislation.
When the king stripped his brother of his titles in the fall, the government said passing a new law would not be a good use of Parliament’s time.
But that view has changed and the government is now considering legislation once the police investigation is finished.
James Murray, the government’s chief secretary to the treasury, said “the government is considering any further steps that might be required and we’re not ruling anything out.”
The last time a royal was removed from the line of succession was after the abdication of King Edward VIII in 1936, when the law was changed to strike him and any descendants from the list.
Following one of the most tumultuous days in the modern history of Britain’s royal family, the former prince was back at his new residence on the Sandringham Estate, King Charles III’s private retreat, around 185 kilometers northeast of London.
Police have concluded their search there, but are still searching Royal Lodge, his 30-room former home in the parkland near Windsor Castle, just west of the capital, where the king’s younger brother had lived for decades until his eviction earlier this month.
Unmarked vans, believed to be police vehicles, have been entering the grounds on Friday morning.
