New Zealand would back removal of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from royal line of succession, says PM

New Zealand has become the second Commonwealth country to back the removal of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the royal line of succession after his arrest on suspicion of misconduct in public office.A spokesperson for New Zealand’s prime minister, Christopher Luxon, said on Tuesday: “If the UK government proposes to remove Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the order of succession, New Zealand would support it.”Luxon later told the media that his government had been in contact with the UK Cabinet Office.“The bottom line is no one is above the law and once that investigation is closed, should the UK government decide to remove him from the line of succession, that is something we would support,” he said.He made the statement after Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, confirmed in a letter to his British counterpart, Keir Starmer, on Monday that he would support the former prince’s removal from the line of succession.Speaking to Nova Adelaide on Tuesday, Albanese said the allegations against Mountbatten-Windsor were “really serious” and he had experienced “quite a fall from grace”.“But he still remains in the line of succession, and I think that Australians don’t want a bar of this bloke, frankly,” he said.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 if he was ill or abroad. In practice this would never happen, as only working royals are used.The British government is poised to consider laws to strip Mountbatten-Windsor of his right to inherit the throne once a police investigation is finalised.Removing him 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 includes Australia, Canada and New Zealand.The remaining Commonwealth countries are yet to make a statement on their position.Mountbatten-Windsor’s arrest on 19 February is thought to be the first time in modern history that a member of the royal family has been held by police.The allegations against him 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.Buckingham Palace has said it 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, the king said the “the law must take its course”.