Under current rules, the two princes and Princess Beatrice could be called upon as advisers of state to temporarily replace King Charles if he is unable to perform official duties due to illness or absence abroad. This is because by law, under the Succession Act 1937, the Councilors of State include the sovereign’s wife and the next four people in the line of succession who are over 21 years of age. However, according to the Telegraph, the king is reportedly considering rewriting the law to prevent non-working royals from being advisers of state. The move would see Andrew, Harry and Beatrice ineligible for the role. The change in the line of succession since the death of Queen Elizabeth II means Camilla, the Queen’s new consort, Prince William, Prince Harry, Prince Andrew and the newly added Princess Beatrix are the current advisers of state. Andrew, Duke of York, is no longer a working royal after stepping down from public duties in November 2019 following backlash over his friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Prince Andrew and Prince Harry could lose ‘stance’ if king decides to change law (Getty) And since his mother’s death last week, there has been fresh scrutiny of his status as a councilor of state. The Queen’s Covid scare in February reignited the debate when her husband Prince Philip was in the role alongside Charles, William, Harry and Andrew. Prince Harry now lives in the US after stepping down as a senior member of the royal family (Reuters) At the time, Charles had also contracted Covid, William was overseas in Dubai, Andrew had stepped back from royal life for good while fighting a civil sexual assault case and Harry was living in the US after stepping down as a senior royal official . Counselors of State are authorized to carry out most of the Sovereign’s official duties, for example, attending meetings of the Privy Council, signing regular documents and receiving the credentials of new ambassadors to the United Kingdom. Prince Andrew stepped down from public duties in November 2019 after backlash over his friendship with convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein (AFP/Getty) Charles and William supported the Queen in May to open a new session of Parliament when the former monarch was unable to do so due to mobility issues. However, there are some key constitutional functions that cannot be delegated, including Commonwealth affairs, dissolving parliament except on express command of Her Majesty, creating peers and appointing a prime minister.
