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The Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, has said Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should be removed from the royal line of succession for alleged actions he described as “deplorable”.
Speaking to reporters in Tokyo, Carney said the actions that have caused the former prince to be stripped of his royal titles “necessitate” his removal from the line of succession.
Mountbatten-Windsor was arrested on 19 February on suspicion of misconduct in public office. It is thought to be the first time in modern history that a member of the royal family has been held by police.
The former prince is eighth in line to the throne after Princes William and Harry and their children, despite him having relinquished his royal titles in October after new information came to light about his links to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and child sex offender.
This means Mountbatten-Windsor is still a counsellor of state, the group of adult royals who could be named to fill in for King Charles III if he was ill or abroad, even if in practice this would never happen for him, as only working royals are used.
King Charles is the head of state in Canada, which is a member of the commonwealth of former colonies. Removing Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the line of succession would require an act of the UK parliament and the support of the 14 commonwealth countries where Charles is head of state, which also includes Australia and New Zealand.
Carney, a former governor of the Bank of England, said that even though Mountbatten-Windsor is “well down” the line of succession, the “point of principle stands”.
Carney said there was a process to remove someone from the line of succession, which he says should be followed.
In February, the Australian and New Zealand governments also confirmed they would support any proposal to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the royal line of succession after the former prince was arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office.
At the time Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, wrote to his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, to offer the country’s backing.
“In light of recent events concerning Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, I am writing to confirm that my government would agree to any proposal to remove him from the line of royal succession,” an extract of Albanese’s letter to Starmer, supplied to Guardian Australia, read.
“I agree with His Majesty that the law must now take its full course and there must be a full, fair and proper investigation.
“These are grave allegations and Australians take them seriously.”
The allegations against Mountbatten-Windsor stem from documents released by the US justice department relating to Epstein and his links to the rich and powerful. Emails released appeared to show Mountbatten-Windsor sharing reports of official visits to Hong Kong, Vietnam and Singapore.
Mountbatten-Windsor has always denied any wrongdoing or accusations against him and has not so far been charged with any criminal offence.
The Guardian has reported that Buckingham Palace would not stand in the way of plans to remove Mountbatten-Windsor from the royal line of succession.
In a statement after the arrest of his brother, King Charles said the “the law must take its course”.
With Associated Press
