Questions raised over Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor's line of succession

Royal family needs "to be transparent" if they want to regain the trust of the entire commonwealth, said senior royal reporter Bronte Coy after Andrew was arrested and released from police custody.

Speaking to GB News, she said the Royal Family is at an "absolute critical junction" following the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

She said, "Yesterday it was extraordinary in world's modern history and people in Australia reacted in shock to King's brother, 8th in line to throne,  taken into custody. It was all to all coverage in the same way it was here."

Answering a question whether people in commonwealth countries will demand Andrews' removal from the line of succession, she said the "line of succession is the next thing"  

Andrew was arrested on Thursday and spent 11 hours in police custody on his 66th birthday on suspicion of misconduct in public office.

Though Andrew was stripped of many of his royal titles last October - including his title as prince - he has kept his place as eighth in line of succession to the throne.

Royal observers believe, given King Charles' stance that he and his family support
 the authorities,  it won't be long before the monarch removes him from the line of succession.

According to BBC, he could be removed from the line of succession, but the process relies on a couple of things.

Firstly, an act of Parliament would need to be passed.

Such legislation would also require the support of all the Commonwealth countries that have King Charles as their head of state, as it would also affect their lines of succession too.

Andrew also technically remains a counsellor of state, who could stand in for a monarch who is ill or overseas.

In practice, only working royals are called upon to carry out those jobs. Andrew stepped back from public duties in 2019 following backlash after an interview with BBC Newsnight about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein.