Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, and Princess Beatrice won’t be stepping in for King Charles anytime soon!
Earlier this week, Buckingham Palace announced the 75-year-old monarch will be heading to a hospital next week to undergo a “corrective treatment” for an enlarged prostate. Since the news broke, royal watchers have been wondering whether the other family members will take on any additional duties for King Charles while he recovers. Even though Harry and Andrew are no longer working members of the royal family, they are technically Counsellors of State still and could step up to help manage the monarchy. But there is a huge catch!
For those who don’t know, the role of the Counsellors of State is to stand in for the monarch, and that person can act on the monarch’s behalf through the Letters Patent if they are temporarily incapacitated or absent from the country. The position belongs to the sovereign’s spouse and the first four people in the line of succession over 21 years old. Therefore, the Counsellors of State would be Queen Camilla, Prince William, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew, and Princess Beatrice.
So since Harry and Andrew still hold onto those roles, they could, in theory, represent King Charles during this time. However, The Times reported that action was taken after he ascended the throne in 2022 to prevent the two princes from being allowed to fulfill those duties!
In the second reading of the Counsellors of State Bill 2022-23 in the House of Lords on November 21, 2022, Lord True stated that the royals confirmed only “working members of the Royal Family will be called on to act as Counsellors of State.” This means that even though Harry and Andrew are Counsellors of State, they will not be called to perform any royal responsibilities since they both are no longer senior working royals. In 2020, Prince Harry stepped back as a working royal and moved to California. Meanwhile, Queen Elizabeth stripped Andrew of his military titles and patronages after being accused of sexual assault by Virginia Giuffre, who was a victim in Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking ring.
The bill became law in December 2022. It made headlines worldwide as it added Princess Anne and Prince Edward as Counsellors of State. But no one knew the royals added a “working members” stipulation at the time. Until now! Sneaky, sneaky Charles! The BBC reported that when they left, the bill was “fast-tracked” through Parliament in order to fix any “awkward constitutional problem” when King Charles’ reign began. Parliament also felt it was a good idea to add two more cohorts, Anne and Edward, to step in when needed after Andrew and Harry stopped their royal duties. That makes sense. But why keep the working family members only policy a secret from everyone? Did Harry and Andrew even know about this stipulation? Hmm.
And Prince Andrew and Prince Harry aren’t the only ones getting side-lined! The Times reported that the disgraced Duke of York’s daughter Princess Beatrice cannot fulfill her role as a Counsellors of State. Why? For the same reason Andrew and Harry can’t — she’s not a working royal either! The 35-year-old is often seen at royal family events and is a patron for multiple causes. However, she does not take on any official engagements full-time for the crown like Prince William and Princess Catherine.
Wow…
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