Opinion
Anne Twomey Constitutional expert February 24, 2026 — 8:30am
February 24, 2026 — 8:30am
The place of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, former prince and brother of the King, in the line of succession to the British throne appears to be under threat in the United Kingdom.
The Duke of York laughs during a visit to Royal Naval Air Station, Somerset, 2015. Alamy Stock Photo Mountbatten-Windsor is eighth in line (after the families of princes William and Harry) to the Crowns of the United Kingdom and Australia. This makes it extremely unlikely he would ever become monarch, but his removal is more a symbolic act of repudiation.
Is it possible to remove him? The short answer is yes – but it would most likely be a time-consuming process involving many parliaments passing legislation.
At the time of Australia’s federation in 1901, the British Crown was described as “one and indivisible”. Queen Victoria exercised constitutional powers over all her colonies, acting on the advice of British ministers.
That changed after World War I, due to a series of Imperial Conferences, with the self-governing “dominions” (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, the Irish Free State and Newfoundland) having separate Crowns by 1930. This meant the Australian prime minister could advise the monarch about the appointment of the governor-general of Australia and other federal (but not state) Australian matters
Read More