King Charles III may soon move to exclude Prince Andrew, Princess Beatrice, and Prince Harry from acting as official stand-ins if he should be “incapacitated.”
The Regency Act of 1937 allows a monarch’s spouse and the next four in line for the throne can on occasion be called up to act as “Councillors of State” — appearing on behalf of the king or queen to conduct official business. And according to a report published Sunday by The Telegraph, Britain’s new king may be ready to make some adjustments to that arrangement.
As noted by The Telegraph, “The move would see the Duke of York, the Duke of Sussex and Princess Beatrice all relieved of their duties as official stand-ins for the sovereign, should he be indisposed.”
The report suggested Charles may look to replace the Duke of York (Andrew) and the Duke of Sussex (Harry) with his sister, Princess Anne, and his younger brother, Prince Edward.
While the late Queen Elizabeth II was still living, her husband Prince Phillip filled that role until his death in April of 2021. The others who were able to occasionally appear or act on her behalf were then-Prince Charles, Prince Andrew, Prince William, and Prince Harry.
Even before the queen passed away, Prince Andrew was stripped of his military titles over ties to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein — and has not been a working member of the Royal Family for some time.
Prince Harry stepped away from his work as part of the Royal Family of his own accord, saying at the time, “I want you to hear the truth from me — as much as I can share, not as a prince or a duke, but as Harry, the same person that many of you have watched grow up over the past 35 years, but now with a clearer perspective … The decision that I have made for my wife and I to step back is not one I made lightly. It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven’t always gotten it right, but as far as this goes, there really was no other option.”
Following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s exit from royal life, relationships between the prince and his family have publicly ranged from non-existent to awkward, prompting some to call for him to be stripped of his royal titles altogether.