Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor may be stripped of his Freedom of the City of London despite the Corporation previously stating it could not be done.
Legal chiefs at the City of London Corporation are working on a draft bill which, if approved, would enable it to directly remove the Freedom from the former prince without going to Parliament.
This stands in stark contrast to the Corporation’s position in March, when a spokesperson said the honour could not be taken back.
A spokesperson said the authority is now developing a process allowing it to be removed “where appropriate, having determined that there is currently no effective lawful mechanism to do so”.
Corporation members voted in May to instruct officers to investigate how to remove the Freedom after months of growing pressure on the City to review it.
Mr Mountbatten-Windsor received the Freedom in 2012 via patrimony due to his father, Prince Philip, having been a Freeman. King Charles stripped his brother of his royal titles, styles and honours after further details of the former prince’s relationship with paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein came to light last year.
In February he was also arrested on suspicion of misconduct in public office over accusations he shared sensitive information with Mr Epstein while serving as the UK’s trade envoy. Mr Mountbatten-Windsor was released under investigation after spending 11 hours in custody. He has denied any wrongdoing.
The Corporation’s original position was that it was unable to strip Mr Mountbatten-Windsor of the Freedom. A spokesperson said at the time: “We have carefully considered whether it is possible to remove a Freedom granted by patrimony and understand that we are not able to do so.”
At a Court of Common Council meeting on 23 July, Deputy Marianne Fredericks asked for an update on what action has been taken since the May session.
Policy Chair Deputy Chris Hayward, in effect the political head of the Corporation, said the Comptroller and City Solicitor and City Remembrancer have produced a draft legal opinion on the matter.
He continued to say the “provisional gist” of the opinion is that the current process of disenfranchisement, or removing the honour, is “defective and defunct”.
It is therefore down to the Court, if it wishes, to pass an Act of Common Council and “confer the power of disenfranchisement on itself”. Other options are also being explored.
Deputy Hayward said work is being done to finalise and issue the opinion, and to produce a draft bill to go before the Policy and Resources Committee in September and then to the Court in October.
Assuming members pass the Act, a further report will be brought forward “in the following cycle”, which will present the opportunity to remove Mr Mountbatten-Windsor’s Freedom.
Deputy Hayward said: “The City Solicitor and the Remembrancer have both asked me to point out that this is a substantial piece of work with significant constitutional implications which need to be carefully considered by members, to ensure that the new process is, as far as possible, lawful and workable with no unintended consequences.”
Deputy Fredericks welcomed the response, though urged the Chair to ensure the process continues at pace, to which Deputy Hayward said he would share a month-by-month timeline with members.
A Corporation spokesperson said there are currently no further details about the timing. They added that the timeline will depend on what procedure is adopted and the work required to deliver it.
A spokesperson for the Corporation said their thoughts remain with the victims and survivors of Mr Epstein and all victims and survivors of sexual abuse. They added: “We understand why people want this matter resolved as quickly as possible, and we share that desire. The fastest and most appropriate approach is to put in place a lawful process that allows the City Corporation to make these decisions itself, rather than seeking legislation through Parliament.”
“We are progressing that work and, if elected members approve the new process, they will then be able to consider whether Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s Freedom should be removed.”
