Jack Whitehall took a dig at Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor during the 2026 Brit Awards, which was lapped up by the audience.
Mr Whitehall hosted the Brits, making numerous jokes throughout the evening, including a jab at Labour politicians over a recent scandal surrounding the party.
As the comedian introduced singer James Blunt and presenter Maya Jama to the stage to announce the winner of the Artist of the Year category, Mr Whitehall called Mr Blunt “the only man posher than me at the Brits”.
He then joked that Mr Blunt “was about 30th in line to the throne… might be 29th soon”.
Mr Whitehall took a dig at the former Duke of York | GETTY
An audience member shared with HELLO! that the joke got a hilarious reaction, with the crowd cheering.
There has been much discussion surrounding Andrew being removed from the line of succession, with Australia and New Zealand saying they would back such a move.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams explained that King Charles would be constitutionally guided by ministers if Parliament decides to change the line of succession to remove Andrew.
He told GB News: “If that is the wish of Parliament, the King will be so advised, because that’s his constitutional role.”
Mr Whitehall made several digs and jokes throughout the night
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Mr Fitzwilliams also pointed to the last major reform of succession law as a guide to the complexity involved.
The Succession to the Crown Act received Royal Assent in 2013 and was introduced to end male preference primogeniture for those born after October 2011, but the changes were not commenced until March 2015, after coordination across the Commonwealth realms.
He said: “They did this 13 years ago in 2013, and that was for gender equality. It took some months because it had to go around all the Commonwealth realms.”
Any fresh change to the succession would similarly require engagement beyond Westminster.
Andrew is currently eighth in line to the throne
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Ministers are considering new legislation, noting the need for consultation and agreement with other Commonwealth realms.
On February 23, it was announced that Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese wrote to Sir Keir Starmer to tell him he would back any UK Government plan to remove Andrew from the line of succession to the throne.
Mr Fitzwilliams argued that while altering the line of succession would be significant, the monarchy has historically placed weight on symbolic steps in moments of crisis.
He said: “It’s actually, technically something they wouldn’t do unless they felt they had to. But all the titles are symbolically important.”
Australia and New Zealand have backed Andrew being remove from the line of succession
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Andrew was stripped of his honorary military roles and royal patronages in January 2022, and Buckingham Palace said he would no longer use the HRH style in an official capacity.
More recently, the King initiated a formal process in October 2025 to remove Andrew’s style, titles and honours, which included his remaining titles and honours, including the Order of the Garter.
Referring to those steps, Mr Fitzwilliams said: “That’s why, of course, he was stripped of the prince title, the dukedoms, the garter was removed, and why the Queen, of course, took away his honorary military links. Symbolism is very important.”
He added that any parliamentary move would need to be handled carefully.