The royal duties of Prince Harry and Prince Andrew are discussed in Parliament for the first time as the Lords question whether the Duke and Duchess should be allowed to perform official duties for King Charles.
- The Lords peers asked if Harry and Andrew should remain as ‘Counselors of State’
- Constitutional experts believe this is the first time an issue has been raised in Parliament
- Buckingham Palace has been under pressure to relieve the couple of their roles.
Questions about whether Prince Harry and Prince Andrew should be allowed to perform official duties for King Charles have been raised in Parliament for the first time.
Peers in the House of Lords asked if Harry and Andrew should remain as ‘Counselors of State’ who can act as stand-ins for the King, when they are no longer royals.
Constitutional experts believe this is the first time the status of the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of York as councilors has been raised in Parliament.
Buckingham Palace has been under pressure to relieve the couple of their roles ever since Harry moved to California and Andrew was embroiled in a sexual assault lawsuit in the US, which he disputed but later settled.
Peers in the House of Lords asked if Harry and Andrew (pictured at the Queen’s state funeral) should remain as ‘Counsellors of State’ who can act as deputies to the King, when they are no longer working as members of the royalty.
Labor peer Viscount Stansgate raised the issue in the House of Lords, asking if the Government planned to amend the Regency Bill.
He questioned whether ministers should discuss ‘a sensible amendment’ with the King, adding: ‘Otherwise, is the government happy to continue a situation where councils of state and regency powers can be exercised by the Duke of York or Duke of Sussex? , one of whom has left public life and the other of whom has left the country?’
The King reportedly wants the law changed so that all his advisers are royals, but it would require a change in legislation.
The Regency Law of 1937 establishes that only the spouse of the sovereign and the next four in the line of succession to the throne -over 21 years of age- can act as Councilors of State.
The current councilors are the Queen Consort, Prince William, Prince Harry, the Duke of York and their eldest daughter, Beatrice.
But none of the latter three are working royals, while the queen’s other children, Princess Anne and Prince Edward, are not included as they are 16th and 13th in the line of succession to throne, respectively.
The King (pictured with Camilla, the Queen Consort) reportedly wants the law changed so that all of his advisers are royals, but it would require a change in legislation.
Royal insiders have called for them to replace Andrew and Harry as they are senior working royals.
Lord Privy Seal, replying to Viscount Stansgate on behalf of the government, said that he could not discuss any private conversations between ministers and the king or royal household.
Any changes to the Regency Law would be carried out “in close consultation with the Royal House”, he said, suggesting that the change in monarch could be “a useful opportunity” for a review.
He told the House of Lords: “The Government will always consider what arrangements are necessary to ensure resilience in our constitutional arrangements, and we have seen in the past that the point of accession has proved a useful opportunity to consider existing arrangements.” .
Councilors of State are authorized to carry out most of the King’s official duties, including attending privy council meetings, signing routine documents and receiving credentials from new ambassadors to the UK.
But some core constitutional functions, including the dissolution of Parliament, the appointment of a prime minister and the creation of peers, can only be delegated at the express instruction of the monarch.
