Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the secret sealed document and his arrest

[alex397]

Removing Andrew from the line of succession means very little. Being eighth in line, it would take a major event for him to ever become king.
Little will change with the monarchy until William, the son of the nations favourite princess becomes King.

All it could take is a serious incident like a plane crash to make him higher up the line. If found guilty, it would be good to remove any possibly of having such a disgraced person as head of state.

 

[AlterEgo]

Government now considering removing Andrew from line of succession, subject to the conclusion of the police investigation:

Government considers removing Andrew from royal line of succession

The former Duke of York is eighth in line to the throne meaning he remains eligible to be King.

www.bbc.co.uk

Yes, a reminder for anyone who needs it that the monarch becomes so with Parliament's consent. Loyalty to heirs and successors is window dressing. They're about to legislate against one.

 

[norbitonflyer]

All it could take is a serious incident like a plane crash to make him higher up the line.

The senior royals never fly together for that very reason.

== Doublepost prevention - post automatically merged: 20 Feb 2026 ==

From entertainment you have ........

But if we lost the Royalty, then in my opinion the replacement/s must be non-political. And be prepared to travel by train!!

Two words might put you off that idea - President Savile.

 

[BayPaul]

Government now considering removing Andrew from line of succession, subject to the conclusion of the police investigation:

Government considers removing Andrew from royal line of succession

The former Duke of York is eighth in line to the throne meaning he remains eligible to be King.

www.bbc.co.uk

As I understand it, the reason this hasn't already been done is that all of the countries that he's in the line of succession for would need to vote for this too, and there is a concern that some (e.g. Australia) might vote instead to abolish the monarchy instead.

 

[pokemonsuper9]

As I understand it, the reason this hasn't already been done is that all of the countries that he's in the line of succession for would need to vote for this too, and there is a concern that some (e.g. Australia) might vote instead to abolish the monarchy instead.

They can have an independence day if they want one.
We don't have many more countries we can give them to.

 

[Gloster]

As I understand it, the reason this hasn't already been done is that all of the countries that he's in the line of succession for would need to vote for this too, and there is a concern that some (e.g. Australia) might vote instead to abolish the monarchy instead.

The Australians can always vote to abolish the monarchy and become a republic: they have voted once already, I think. Thet don’t really have much leverage: do they really want to be the only country keeping him in the line of succession because they are trying to change the question to one that is already in their hands?

 

[Trackman]

The senior royals never fly together for that very reason.

Prince George can't fly with his Dad as he's over 12.

 

[Cowley]

I’ve been wondering about the possible outcomes of this whole sorry affair. I’ve thought of a few, but can anyone think of any others?

1) Pretty much nothing as it would be too difficult to make it stick?
2) He ends up in court and gets either a) a suspended sentence, or b) actually serves a stretch.
3) It potentially goes to court, but as part of a plea deal he starts naming names?
4) He has a mental health crisis and is completely removed from public view?
5) He gets whisked away to somewhere like Dubai and basically sees out his days in exile?

6 and 7 anyone..?

 

[Harpo]

So far we have only seen the evidence of one AMB mail recipient. I do wonder what a delve into all of AMB’s mails will reveal and who else it might implicate.

 

[Cowley]

So far we have only seen the evidence of one AMB mail recipient. I do wonder what a delve into all of AMB’s mails will reveal and who else it might implicate.

I really don’t think he would have been bright enough to cover his tracks in all of this. The police going in quietly and quickly will have meant that they’ve probably got a whole load of stuff to look through.

 

[WesternLancer]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think this is to do with 'leaking' possible business opportunities - Misconduct in Public Office quite possibly, but it is hardly treason in the normal accepted sense (defence secrets etc). Andrew's visits to those countries would hardly have been secret, and, as trade envoy, it would not have taken a (foreign) genius to work out what he was there for and the possible business opportunities? Without downplaying what he has done (and the calling to account), we need to keep a sense of perspective....

Exactly this.

 

[spyinthesky]

Far too much media tripe again.
Having watched CNN journalists finding him guilty by reading his eyes from the photos after his arrest.
Guilty he may be but I fear the physical evidence they are looking for is in the haystack.
There appears to be no evidence to bring charges that will secure a conviction.
If the evidence is found, I hope they find all of it and not rely on ex-staff coming out of the woodwork 10 years down the line.

 

[AlterEgo]

They can have an independence day if they want one.
We don't have many more countries we can give them to.

Australia is an independent country. They retain the monarchy - the head of state is the King of Australia - by choice and consent.

 

[martin butler]

Alot depends on how damaging it is to the standing of the country, the Royal family, and Parliament, some things will be too hot to handle. to damaging,

I think a lot will be hushed up, Andrew is finished, he will be given a choice, go live in exile, quietly don't rock the boat, stay out of the news,
Or we throw you to the wolves, every last detail will come out,

Other countries law enforcement will no doubt be informed as to what other names, come out, and some people will be awake at night expecting that knock, The US, will sit on any new detail, until it becomes politically dangerous to do so, then I think we might see some justice finally, as law enforcement starts to swoop on those identified as being involved in Epstein's sordid enterprise.

 

[Gloster]

I really don’t think he would have been bright enough to cover his tracks in all of this. The police going in quietly and quickly will have meant that they’ve probably got a whole load of stuff to look through.

I read, I can’t remember where but possibly Private Eye, that he did a lot of shredding before he left Royal Lodge. So they may only be left with what he missed or took with him to Norfolk.

I fear that he may get away with things because, although there seems to be fairly strong evidence that he did show confidential documents to people who shouldn’t have seen them, it may be difficult to prove that he was a ‘public officer’. Without that the main charge of Misconduct in Public Office fails: there are lesser charges he could probably be done under, but they would feel like a damp squib. However, we are in uncharted waters here.

 

[Cowley]

I read, I can’t remember where but possibly Private Eye, that he did a lot of shredding before he left Royal Lodge. So they may only be left with what he missed or took with him to Norfolk.

Maybe he’s brighter than I’m giving him credit for…

I fear that he may get away with things because, although there seems to be fairly strong evidence that he did show confidential documents to people who shouldn’t have seen them, it may be difficult to prove that he was a ‘public officer’. Without that the main charge of Misconduct in Public Office fails: there are lesser charges he could probably be done under, but they would feel like a damp squib. However, we are in uncharted waters here.

Yes, that’s my understanding too. I think at this point the public expects something to be done about him though, so him seeming to get away with it may actually be more damaging to the royal family.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

A few hundred years ago, the monarchy of this country had means at their disposal to solve problems of royal relatives and had no compunction of availing themselves of such problem solving.

 

[Gloster]

A few hundred years ago, the monarchy of this country had means at their disposal to solve problems of royal relatives and had no compunction of availing themselves of such problem solving.

I am sure that they could find a pistol and a bottle of whisky for Andrew. With the modern media being so determined, they could probably find a cleaning rag to add verisimilitude. Mind you, that does rely on Andrew doing the decent thing, or even knowing what a decent thing is.

 

[Jan Mayen]

I am sure that they could find a pistol and a bottle of whisky for Andrew. With the modern media being so determined, they could probably find a cleaning rag to add verisimilitude. Mind you, that does rely on Andrew doing the decent thing, or even knowing what a decent thing is.

The decent thing would be to plead guilty to all charges, making sure the Police are aware of all offences and accepting the consequences.

 

[AlterEgo]

The decent thing would be to plead guilty to all charges, making sure the Police are aware of all offences and accepting the consequences.

This assumes that he is in fact guilty, something which is not certain and Andrew may have a legal defence to the allegations.

 

[EYFanatic]

This assumes that he is in fact guilty, something which is not certain and Andrew may have a legal defence to the allegations.

Indeed

As it stands, Mr Mountbatten-Windsor is innocent of any and all possible crimes. Heck, the only royal that *does* have a record is Princess Anne and nobody is suggesting we remove her and strip titles

 

[SuspectUsual]

I read, I can’t remember where but possibly Private Eye, that he did a lot of shredding before he left Royal Lodge. So they may only be left with what he missed or took with him to Norfolk

Maybe he’s brighter than I’m giving him credit for…

I’d like to see him trying to shred emails

 

[pokemonsuper9]

I’d like to see him trying to shred emails

You can print them off!
(maybe check nearby water for hard drives)

 

[spyinthesky]

If they are going for Misconduct in Public office and he wasn’t in Public office then there are other guilty parties to this.
Who gave him the confidential documents ? They would be as guilty.

 

[JamesT]

I’d like to see him trying to shred emails

Shredding hard disks is a thing where you want to make sure the media is destroyed. Though the machines to do it aren’t the thing you pick up in your local Staples.

 

[Gloster]

If they are going for Misconduct in Public office and he wasn’t in Public office then there are other guilty parties to this.
Who gave him the confidential documents ? They would be as guilty.

No, not if they had legitimate reasons to show him or give him the documents. As he was a ‘Special Representative for International Trade and Investment’ they may have a sound defence to this. However, he was not a trade envoy and so not bound, as far as we know, by the rules affecting trade envoys, so his status and the rules may be a bit unclear.

 

[Vexed]

Shredding hard disks is a thing where you want to make sure the media is destroyed. Though the machines to do it aren’t the thing you pick up in your local Staples.

A hammer works too

 

[Killingworth]

The decent thing would be to plead guilty to all charges, making sure the Police are aware of all offences and accepting the consequences.

That rather depends on the precise details of whatever offences he can be charged with and the evidence being strong enough to support them in front of an unbiased jury.

Maybe another 4 or 5 years before that evidence is in place for a full trial?

 

[martin butler]

I doubt if it will even come to court, it will be judged as not in the public interest to proceed, Andrew Mountbatten- Windsor will quietly go into exile, in return for not being tried, the pressure will be, that the Crown, could always decide to change its mind, should he not agree.

 

[Gloster]

I doubt if it will even come to court, it will be judged as not in the public interest to proceed, Andrew Mountbatten- Windsor will quietly go into exile, in return for not being tried, the pressure will be, that the Crown, could always decide to change its mind, should he not agree.

Which means that he has got to be somewhere that would deport him back again if required. He would also have the defence that letting him go and then pulling him in would be an Abuse of Process. I don’t think that letting him go anywhere abroad, except to be questioned or tried, is a particularly good option. Once he is out of one’s hands, what might he do?